TEA saving

[ducks4you]

We have already had our coffee discussions. My family drinks buckets (well...gallons) of iced tea and, in the winter, a lot of hot tea, too. I don't have a stockpile, but I'm considering stocking up. Any idea of how to store, or, if it goes stale quickly (or not)? I do have some space in my freezers, but I thought I'd see if anybody here has any experience.
Yes, Virginia, tea has caffeine, TOO!!

 

[old fashioned]

Excellent question, thanks for posting. I never thought about tea before & we like it alot too. I'm curious as well...

 

[Shiloh Acres]

LOL I thought about posting and saying I want to know too.

I don't have much to add except to say that I'm a stock-up sort of shopper too and I know I've bought a year's worth with no flavor loss. I store them in cannisters (airtight) in the pantry.

I think I have some bulk tea left that's SEVERAL years old. I'll give it a try and post back and let you know. But I'd like to hear what others have to say too.

 

[Wifezilla]

I guess you could use a seal-a-meal type thing to really keep it fresh for a long period of time. Great excuse to buy a food saver if you were looking for one

For coffee I buy whole bean and keep it in the freezer.

 

[ducks4you]

Ya know, wifezilla, WE could buy a coffee plantation...and live there happily!!
I just wondered if it goes stale as quickly as coffee. We can't keep it around long enough to find out ourselves!!!

 

[ksalvagno]

I have some old tea that is at least 3 years old and just in the original package. I'm finally drinking the tea and it tastes just fine. I would think that putting it in the sealing bags would work. I wouldn't recommend just having it on the shelf for a few years but I am finding the my tea is tasting just fine.

 

[ORChick]

I keep my tea in an airtight tin, it its original wrapper, in the pantry - in the kitchen I have a small tight tea tin which gets refilled when empty. Can't say just how long it would last. However, my educated guess says for quite awhile - especially if you were to use a food saver if you have one (I don't). Tea and coffee differ in that coffee has oils that can go off, and lose flavor; tea not so much. I treat my tea as I do leaf herbs - which is what it is after all. I know that the recommendation is to replace your herbs every year (or 6 months!), but I think that is just a ploy to get you to buy new herbs. If they are stored cool, dry, and airtight herbs will last longer than that - the sniff and taste test will tell you if they still have flavor. Treat tea the same way. Buying good tea to begin with is also a good idea - by good tea I mean loose leaf and not tea bags, which are generally filled with more finely cut leaves, with more cut surface to lose flavor from.
I will add that I probably have about 5 pounds of various teas at the moment. I drink a lot of tea, but even so some of what I have has been here awhile, with no noticeable loss of quality.

 

[Wifezilla]

Ya know, wifezilla, WE could buy a coffee plantation...and live there happily!!

LOL Do ducks eat coffee plants? That could be a problem...