Ceylon tea must be stored properly to maintain its quality, flavor, and shelf life. With the right storage, keeping your tea delicious and fresh is simple. We have to store Ceylon tea, avoiding few conditions such as light, heat, moisture, odor, and air to prolong it’s shelf life. This would make a huge difference on how the tea tastes and smells.
Tea quickly ages due to light and UV rays. It is better not to store your tea in anything transparent unless you intend to keep it in a closed cabinet. Avoid purchasing tea from vendors who keep it in clear glass or plastic containers for a long period of time. Tea gets affected from heat as well. Place it away from heat sources like stoves and ovens and from direct sunlight.
Moisture affects a Ceylon tea’s shelf life much more than other elements. Tea absorbs moisture easily from the environment. Storing Ceylon tea away from humid conditions, such a refrigerator, is a must. Also leaving teas on liquid damp environments should be avoided at all costs, unless you’re brewing it right after.
Teas can absorbs scents easily, which makes it possible to make favorable scented teas. But also that means we should avoid storing them in places where other scents, smells and odors can be found. Because if you store a tea next to a place where there is a foul odor, you might smell it in the tea you might brew with it. Likelihood of your tea acquiring moisture and smells increases with air exposure. Avoid keeping tea in porous packing materials like paper or cardboard, putting it out in the sun, or sealing the package without pushing out extra air.
Generally it is favorable to store Ceylon tea in a dry location that has room temperature to avoid moisture and away from direct sun light. If the tea gets exposed to moisture, it may get expired. To help preserve its flavor, it is also a good idea to store it in an airtight container/tin can. If your Ceylon tea has been stored for a long time and does not taste as fresh or flavorful as it once did or if smells much different from earlier, it may be time to replace it.