Many people have certain misunderstandings in the method of storing tea, thinking that the lower the storage temperature, the better for the tea. Therefore, many teas are stored in the refrigerator after buying, and usually stored without drinking for a long time. Is refrigerator the safe box for tea? You should get your answer through this article. Tea leaves, especially green tea, must be kept in an environment where temperature, light, smell, and humidity are all suitable. Furthermore, different types of tea should be stored separately. The following are five general points for storing tea.
- The temperature of tea
The quality of tea leaves is prone to change under high temperature environment. The higher the temperature, the faster the quality changes. Experiments show that 0 ℃ is ideal to inhibit the aging of tea and ensure the tea quality. For home storage, refrigerator is good for storing tea, but it’s not enough. Here comes to the second point.
- The humidity of tea
Loose tea leaves are porous and easy to absorb moisture. When the water content of the tea leaves exceeds 5%, the tea leaves will easily deteriorate. This requires that the tea must be kept dry during storage, and the tea canister should be well sealed and odor-free. Tin, ceramic, iron or stainless steal are better choices for tea canisters. Avoid not to use paper cans, which is breathable and cannot resist moisture well.
- The vacuum of tea
The polyphenols, vitamins, theaflavins, and thearubigins in tea can be oxidized when they encounter oxygen. These oxidizing substances will make the tea tastes worse and damage the quality of tea. Therefore, when storing tea, if possible, it is better to put the tea in a multi-layer composite bag, extract the oxygen, and turn it into a vacuum package. If you want to put the tea in a canister, you should choose a tea canister of appropriate size and fill in as many tea leaves as possible to minimize the air content, and then seal it.
- The light of tea
Direct light can cause the changes of internal substances in tea. When the light is stronger, the changes will be more obvious. Therefore, the white translucent tea container should never be placed in direct sunlight. If you want to use transparent glass bottles for storing tea, be sure to cover 1-2 layers of clean paper around the wall of the bottle, seal them and put them in a cabinet. If you use canisters, tubes, or boxes to store tea, it’s better to put them in a dry dark place to minimize the expose to light.
- The environment for tea
The container for holding the tea leaves must be clean and free from odors to prevent the quality of the tea leaves from deteriorating. Because tea leaves contain high-molecular palmase and terpene compounds, which are very unstable and can absorb odor easily. Do not directly wrap tea leaves with mimeographed newspapers, since the ink will soon be adsorbed by the tea leaves and deteriorate the tea; do not use packages that was used for milk powder, biscuits, or dried fruits to pack tea directly. For packed tea leaves, it’s better not to put them in the kitchen, kitchen cabinets, wardrobes or camphor wood boxes, especially not to mix with soap and moth balls, otherwise the tea will deteriorate.
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