Since tea tends to speed up its oxidation or aging deterioration in places with higher temperatures, it is suitable to be stored in a ventilated and cool place, and such preservation method can slow down its auto-oxidation.
It has been found that preserving the quality of tea is better if the temperature is controlled below 5°C. Therefore, refrigerator storage has become one of the common methods of storing tea in ordinary households.
Why can I store tea in my refrigerator?
Refrigerator has excellent insulation, can maintain a constant low temperature state, so to meet the tea storage needs low temperature of this feature, so the tea will be placed in it is not a good choice.
We can use the tea leaves in the form of small packages, packed into iron, tin containers sealed, and then set a plastic bag to prevent moisture, and then placed in the refrigerator for storage.
Note that the storage of tea with a special freezer is the best, avoid with other foods, so as not to tea adsorption odor.
If the temperature is controlled below 5°C, the tea will not deteriorate even if it is kept for more than a year. If stored in spring and taken out in winter, the color and flavor of the tea will remain basically the same as when it is stored, and this method is simple and easy to implement.
Notes on the refrigerator storage method
The refrigerator storage method is relatively simple, but there are precautions. As the tea is easy to adsorb moisture or odor, and the refrigerator is humid, which placed a variety of food will affect the taste of tea, in order to prevent the tea into the refrigerator “deodorant”, in the tea into the refrigerator before you make sure to do a good job of sealing.
You can first put the tea into the box, set the cling film to seal it well, and then put it into the refrigerator to keep it. And fill the bag with sufficient amount of special freshness preservative.
In addition, the tea stored in the refrigerator must not be placed together with other odor items to prevent odor; at the same time, the tea from the refrigerator freezer, you should first let the tea canister tea temperature back up to room temperature before removing, so that the tea slowly warmed up, to be warmed up to room temperature, after opening the bag, and then brewing and drinking, otherwise the tea is easy to condense the moisture in the air, thereby increasing the water content of tea, making the tea accelerate the quality change. Otherwise, the tea leaves will easily condense moisture in the air, which will increase the water content of the tea leaves and accelerate the quality change of the tea leaves. And after taking it out of the refrigerator, it is best to drink it within half a month.
Which teas are suitable for storage in the refrigerator?
Among all tea types, green tea is best stored in the refrigerator. Other teas, such as black tea, oolong tea, pu-erh tea and flower tea do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.
This is because black tea and oolong tea have a lower content of polyphenols, which slows down the rate of aging and deterioration and makes them easier to store. Pu-erh tea is a fermented tea, which contains beneficial strains of bacteria and enzymes, which can make the taste of pu-erh better and the more it ages, the more fragrant it is. These enzymes can make Pu-erh taste better and become more fragrant as it ages. For the enzymes to work, they need a ventilated, cool and dry environment, but putting them in the refrigerator can’t satisfy the needs of the enzymes, so they only need ordinary storage methods; flower tea has a rich aroma, and if it is stored at low temperatures, the aroma of the tea will often be suppressed, which will reduce the freshness and concentration of the tea leaves themselves.
So all of these teas just need to be kept in containers that are protected from light, dry, airtight, and free of odors.
