Questions about Storing Tea in Refrigerator

Teachronicles
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Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:37 pm

Victoria wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:34 pm
Teachronicles wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:10 pm
The reason I ask this question is because I refrigerated a small vacuum sealed bag of very green oolong and it lost its seal while in the fridge, I took it out and let rest for 24h and while I hadn't tried it before refrigeration obviously the taste didn't seem right and some leaves were obviously a paler green than others which were dark green. I suspect condensation must have formed and affected the leAves although I guess I don't know for sure not having drank the tea before refrigeration. Since then I haven't put any teas in the fridge with the idea that I'd rather the green oolongs go a little stale and maybe not be as strong or fresh than have the whole batch ruined.
+1 Bok.
That is strange for a seal to break in the refrigerator, although this offers one more reason to use the extra waterproof/odor proof ziplock container for added protection. But if you aren't sure about wanting another mishap, I'd recommend opening greener teas and finishing them off before purchasing a new batch. For instance just get enough for a 3 month supply.
Ya when I was just starting out green tea was my favorite and I made the mistaken of buying way too much of it, I know better now.
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Victoria
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Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:13 pm

Teachronicles wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:37 pm
Ya when I was just starting out green tea was my favorite and I made the mistaken of buying way too much of it, I know better now.
Mishaps often lead to exploration and great discoveries. Thus my refridgerator experiment; I had many Japanese greens when I all of a sudden I was traveling all the time, and found oolongs to be easier to brew and travel with :) . Meanwhile, I’m sitting on quite a bit of 2017 FuShoushan, LiShan, and LongJing ...luckily I like them all, plus can share with friends :) Focusing on these at the moment, so they don’t go downhill.
Teachronicles
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Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:31 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:47 pm
The experiment I did between 2013 and 2016 was posted over at TC; Refridgeration Sincha for a Few Years: 2013 vs 2016

Basically if you do not have a dedicated refridgerator, it is very important to block odors out. I have found Loksak's Opsak ziplock bags do this perfectly. I only place unopened vacuum sealed tea bags in the refridgerator. I also use Mylar to block out any potential light filtration. When a bag is taken out of refridgerator, I let it rest at least 24hrs to acclimatize bag to room temperature, and prevent any condensation from pooling inside the bag. I only refridgerator greener teas to keep them fresh.

p.s. I’m sure there are other airtight odor and moisture proof solutions, I just happened to find the camping bear proof solution works perfectly :)
Victoria was the 2013 vacuum sealed in your experiment? I've read that a vacuum seal is necessary for refrigeration, as some people have mentioned here but I've also read as long as the bag is unopened, it should be fine vacuum seal or not.
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Victoria
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Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:00 am

Teachronicles wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:31 pm
Victoria wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:47 pm
The experiment I did between 2013 and 2016 was posted over at TC; Refridgeration Sincha for a Few Years: 2013 vs 2016

Basically if you do not have a dedicated refridgerator, it is very important to block odors out. I have found Loksak's Opsak ziplock bags do this perfectly. I only place unopened vacuum sealed tea bags in the refridgerator. I also use Mylar to block out any potential light filtration. When a bag is taken out of refridgerator, I let it rest at least 24hrs to acclimatize bag to room temperature, and prevent any condensation from pooling inside the bag. I only refridgerator greener teas to keep them fresh.

p.s. I’m sure there are other airtight odor and moisture proof solutions, I just happened to find the camping bear proof solution works perfectly :)
Victoria was the 2013 vacuum sealed in your experiment? I've read that a vacuum seal is necessary for refrigeration, as some people have mentioned here but I've also read as long as the bag is unopened, it should be fine vacuum seal or not.
Yes, vacuum sealed and unopened. Both are important, oxygen flushed out. Oxygen degrades green teas. There is a thread here in Storage, by pedant, regarding various ways to get rid of oxygen; viewtopic.php?f=63&t=105
TeaZero
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Thu Apr 05, 2018 1:05 pm

Victoria wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:34 pm
That is strange for a seal to break in the refrigerator, although this offers one more reason to use the extra waterproof/odor proof ziplock container for added protection. But if you aren't sure about wanting another mishap, I'd recommend opening greener teas and finishing them off before purchasing a new batch. For instance just get enough for a 3 month supply.
Well if you split up your tea into portions that last 3 months, you can keep one at room temperature for now, and store the rest refrigerated. Every time you finish a 3 month batch, you take a new batch out of the fridge.
TeaZero
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Thu Apr 05, 2018 1:07 pm

Btw, in my experience one should never store tea in a fridge, but freezer.

I once ruined some longjing tea by storing it in the fridge. Even if it was in a airtight jar. The aroma was just gone. In I stored it in a freezer, the aroma is perfectly preserved.
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Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:14 pm

As Boston is experiencing another round of very hot & humid weather (this summer has seemed more like Bangkok than Boston), I have revisited this thread. I report that storage has been successful.

In my refrigerator I have stored gaoshan from Spring 2017, the following winter harvest, and Spring 2018. When I remove a vacuum-pack of one of these hand-rolled teas I do not open it for at least 24 hours. I attest that all of the teas seem equally fresh.

The 50, 60, & 75-gram vacuum-packs are stored inside thick plastic ziplock bags inside paper bags inside a plastic bag in a refrigerator which also has food in it. (My refrigerator has no off-putting odors & does have an open bowl of baking soda.)

Once opened, I usually finish a packet in 3 weeks. The tea that I call Perfect (from 1600m high on Shanlanxi) seems to have its touch of sweetness weaken about 2 weeks after opened but even after 4 weeks the tea is not much changed. Dayuling & Foushoushan do not seem to change at all in 3 weeks. (I have consumed all of the tea in a packet within 3 weeks every time that I have opened one.)

I try to quickly take tea from a packet, immediately fold the packet tightly & right at the top of it, & then get the packet closed securely. (Clips, rubber bands, & recently tiny clothes pins all work well.) The packets are put into tins. Then I pour hot water onto the tea etc.

It is interesting (though far from necessary to enjoy drinking tea) to compare tea from a year ago (Spring 2017 to Spring 2018). There are differences of course. Spring 2018 has been called better than 2017; however, I feel Dayuling from 2017 to be slightly better than 2018's DYL Never mind, when certain levels of quality are reached I taste differences in flavor & feel more than rank of quality.

Overall, it is not only what use this or that to store tea, but also to do the steps carefully & thoroughly. Even a ziplock pouch may be effective if air is squeezed out and the pouch is clipped at the top of the tea.

Cheers
LuckyMe
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Mon May 13, 2019 3:25 pm

Here's some information about cold storage from a vendor:

https://verdanttea.com/how-to-store-tea/
"...However, all Chinese tea vendors store their green teas and green Anxi oolong vacuum sealed in large freezers. If you have the resources, feel free to do the same. This will extend the freshness of the tea from four months to about a year..."

I've been cold storing my green teas at close to freezing temperatures in the fridge and it's definitely helped extend freshness. I seal them in foil pouches with the air removed, and then put them inside another or even two ziploc bags to ensure there's no moisture. Then, as Hojo recommends, I'll leave a bag outside at room temperature for a minimum of 24 hours before opening to avoid condensation issues. I do the same thing with matcha except I use small jewelry bags to make 10g portions and then double bag them before refrigerating.

Also note that your fridge has different temperature zones and the tea should be placed in the coldest part. That's usually the bottom shelf towards the back where the temperature is just above freezing.
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Baisao
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Fri May 17, 2019 12:49 am

Tencha is frequently stored cold in bulk. If you’re smart about it, there’s little risk of destroying even delicate teas.
swordofmytriumph
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Sun May 19, 2019 12:08 pm

Do most of you refrigerate your sencha if you order several bags at once? Like, refrigerate them and take out each bag when you’re ready to drink it? It doesn’t deteriorate more quickly when opened, provided the proper time to come up to temp is given? I have so much shincha now I’m practically swimming in it, ideally I’d love to stretch it out over the next few months. Most of it is from O Cha, the rest is from Thes du Japon.
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Victoria
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Sun May 19, 2019 2:27 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 12:08 pm
Do most of you refrigerate your sencha if you order several bags at once? Like, refrigerate them and take out each bag when you’re ready to drink it? It doesn’t deteriorate more quickly when opened, provided the proper time to come up to temp is given? I have so much shincha now I’m practically swimming in it, ideally I’d love to stretch it out over the next few months. Most of it is from O Cha, the rest is from Thes du Japon.
I usually keep 1 unopened ready to use and the rest in refrigerator sealed inside Loksak's Opsak ziplock bags to prevent any odors and moisture from degrading packs. I don’t have a dedicated refrigerator for tea so keep packs in a lower level bin at bottom of refrigerator. When removing I let bags acclimatize to room temp for 24hrs+, open, let breath another day in clamped bag. If a tea has been refrigerated for more than one year I do think it degrades faster after opening. Not sure why though.
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tealifehk
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Sun May 19, 2019 11:14 pm

I have two unopened packs of sencha in the fridge now: I seem to get around to sencha after Chinese greens since I don't refrigerate those. I've had packs in the year for two years and the tea was still good. Didn't notice it deteriorating any faster. I let the pack warm to room temp and then open. Five or six hours is enough here (it's warm).
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Baisao
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Mon May 20, 2019 12:58 am

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 12:08 pm
Do most of you refrigerate your sencha if you order several bags at once? Like, refrigerate them and take out each bag when you’re ready to drink it? It doesn’t deteriorate more quickly when opened, provided the proper time to come up to temp is given? I have so much shincha now I’m practically swimming in it, ideally I’d love to stretch it out over the next few months. Most of it is from O Cha, the rest is from Thes du Japon.
TdJ used to vacuum seal their teas in mylar packs until very recently. I bulk ordered and have placed these in vacuum sealed FoodSaver bags that I keep in the crisper. When I want to take a tea from storage, I cut the seal, remove the chosen tea, then reseal and return the bags to the crisper. I’ll let the chosen tea sit overnight before opening the package to prevent condensation. It’s worked well for me.

Since TdJ no longer vacuum seals I’ll have to use odor proof bags in the future since pulling a vacuum on a sealed bag with air is likely to rupture the bag. I could be wrong but that’s a lot of force being applied to what is essentially a balloon with tea in it.
.m.
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Mon May 20, 2019 11:33 am

Baisao wrote:
Mon May 20, 2019 12:58 am
Since TdJ no longer vacuum seals I’ll have to use odor proof bags in the future since pulling a vacuum on a sealed bag with air is likely to rupture the bag. I could be wrong but that’s a lot of force being applied to what is essentially a balloon with tea in it.
I think you should be ok as long as the bag that you use for the sealing is soft enough so that it can deform around the Tdj bag leaving no extra space. I mean, if the force needed to deform the outer bag is smaller than that to rupture the inner one. But dont hold me accountable for what i say. :lol:
swordofmytriumph
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Mon May 20, 2019 12:08 pm

Thanks all!
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