Long term storage of tea bags....can you?

[TxHills]

Ok guys....did my search and didn't come up with anything. I could have sworn I've seen it since I've been here....oh well. Can you store tea bags for long term? In mylar with o2? Or is there something about it that won't keep. Will it dry out like tobacco? Store it just airtight? Vacum sealed? If it can be stored, what's the best way?

Thanks!

[hank2222]

yes you can but there are some rules you have to follow when handleing the bags..

this one a seams a bit stange but wear the medical rubber gloves when handleing them to keep the oils in your hands from touching them..

then follow the normal things when sealing them up in the mylar bags with co2 pack throw in ..i take them out of the boxs handleing them with the gloves on and then pack them still in there covered bags like lipton does .

for earl grey tea bags i put them in a ziplock plastic bag and then seal them up that way first then seal then up in the bag

i seal up about 2 boxs worth of tea bags to one mylar bag then pack them 6 to a 2.gallon sized bucket laying them flat inside the bucket

also i use spendla the fake sugar and do the same for them with a co2 pack throw into the mylar bag and sealed up then put into a 6 gallon bucket and stored as need to use down the line

[Fishlore]

Not really an answer, but to feed my potential caffeine fix in a SHTF type scenario, I bought seeds for Tea Trees... camelia sinensis. They take a long time to germinate and 3 years of growth before you can harvest them so I can't offer my opinions just yet on the quality. Just thought I'd throw that idea out there. With the leaves of these trees you can make green, oolong and black teas depending on how you dry and cut them.

http://coffeetea.about.com/od/prepar...growingtea.htm

[The Saint]

I toss a bunch in the food saver bag and seal em down.

I use about 20 per month so 20 to a bag.

cool dry spot on the prep shelf and they will be fine for years.

rotate your stock and you wont have anything to worry about.

[MikeK]

O2 oxidizes the flavoring oils in the tea. Stored away from O2, they last a very long time. Sometimes they're not always optimally dry for long term storage though. And when that happens, the moisture given off by the O2 absorber can cause mold. I now process mine in two steps. I leave them in a sealed container with silica gel to dry them out some more, then I store with an O2 absorber. I've drank tea stored that way for 10 years that tasted as fresh as new.

[Peter]

Tea bags in the papper wrapper I store in a canning jar out of direct light. They have done fairly well, so far. I do buy some teas that are individually sealed in a celophane wrapper. They seem to do well on ther own, with out any special prep other than keep them out of the light in a cool dry palce.

It could be that the climate here is arid and there is little humidity to effect the tea. I have drank teas that were 5 years old without loss of flavor.
Coffee is the bugger...I wound up going the instant route and calling it good.

Edit to add;
I've considered using a dissicant with a vaccuum food sealer, for the really long term, though I've always thought that tea once dried was fair stable as long as it stayed dry. Haven't they found tea in asia that was hundreds of years old and still good. Thought I read that somewhere?

[cleatis]

WOW!!! I go thru about a gallon a day and never put up a single bag. WHAT is WRONG with ME!!! Thanks for showing me a whole in my plan. TO THE STORE!!

[hank2222]

Originally Posted by MikeK

O2 oxidizes the flavoring oils in the tea. Stored away from O2, they last a very long time. Sometimes they're not always optimally dry for long term storage though. And when that happens, the moisture given off by the O2 absorber can cause mold. I now process mine in two steps. I leave them in a sealed container with silica gel to dry them out some more, then I store with an O2 absorber. I've drank tea stored that way for 10 years that tasted as fresh as new.

your right i did the post on the fly from the doctor's waiting room and i was not trying to think about the what the doctor was going to do to me at the time ..

i meant to say that put the teabags into a plastic bag seal them up not put the co2 bags in with the teabags ..

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Peter

Tea bags in the papper wrapper I store in a canning jar out of direct light. They have done fairly well, so far. I do buy some teas that are individually sealed in a celophane wrapper. They seem to do well on ther own, with out any special prep other than keep them out of the light in a cool dry palce.

It could be that the climate here is arid and there is little humidity to effect the tea. I have drank teas that were 5 years old without loss of flavor.
Coffee is the bugger...I wound up going the instant route and calling it good.

Edit to add;
I've considered using a dissicant with a vaccuum food sealer, for the really long term, though I've always thought that tea once dried was fair stable as long as it stayed dry. Haven't they found tea in asia that was hundreds of years old and still good. Thought I read that somewhere?

Vacuum sealing doesn't remove as much O2 as an O2 absorber. So it's not really ideal for long term storage of anything that's O2 sensitive. Unfortunately, tea is very O2 sensitive, just like spices.

Tea will last just fine. I have some that's over 20 years old, just stored in the metal can it came in. But it does lose flavor over time as the O2 breaks down the volatile oils. Still drinkable, just not as tasty.

[TxHills]

Great answers you guys. And quick too!! Pretty much got the idea, and now to put 'em up. Store had Luizianne family size 48 bags on sale this morning when I went shopping. We go through close to a gallon a day. I just use lemon in mine........will have to get another lemon tree going! lol
Thanks for your help...it's one thing I hadn't started to put up, until Mrs Tx mentioned it yesterday. Gotta love 'em.

[hank2222]

here is my basic drink plan

tea bags cold brew type

tea bags morning or breakfast drink

diff powder long term drink items

hot chocolate

milk in strawberry and vanilla and chocolate and plain flavors

apple-peach -grape -other drink mixs

plus some other items i found in long term drink items from some of the diff resales of products

if you have a 99.cent store in the are TXHills try and find a 2.qt sized cylinder tube drinks holders to act as a fridge units drink holders .,

they come in 1.qt sized and 2.qt sized cylinders .

i use the 1qt sized units for milk products because i do not use milk much and only make up what i need ..

the 2.qt sized units are use as regular drink mix holders and the larger 1.gallon sized unit is use as the tea drink bottle and it work out in the small fridge unit i have in my place ..

[adobewalls]

Same experience with Tea as MikeK; Tea stored with no special preparations but kept dry has lasted me for years and years.

[rextex]

I used some tea bags that I had sealed in food storage bags that were almost 5 years old. I couldn't tell the difference truthfully.

[Madgie]

I have tea stored in the refrigerator, in buckets and on the pantry shelf. I really never worry about them going bad as my crowd rotates them daily. My tea plants are very young but I have 4 different types so they can be blended.

[Teslin]

I buy the boxes of 100 matcha (Japanese) green tea bags, which are individually wrapped in mylar-type/thickness plastic bags. They cost about $12 each (and I am sure they are going up as I speak) but they last me about 3 months each.

I also have some dehydrated instant tea granules in bottles as backup, as well as several large boxes of Lipton tea bags, again, individually wrapped but those are in paper.

I love green tea so I also have stocked up on Celestial Seasonings boxes (both decaf and regular - no idea why I bought so much decaf though since I rarely touch that) when they have been on sale. I never repack any of the above though - or haven't as yet - since everything is already in decent packaging as far as I can see.

[TitanicRose]

Tea is one thing that will be nice to have. It can be easily brewed in a sun tea jar so no energy requirements.

I'm not picky when it comes to brand. I get mine at the Dollar General store. $1.35 for a 100 count box. I am not really a hot tea drinker, I much prefer coffee in the morning but if coffee runs out, tea will do. I seem to have much more tea than coffee. I better fix that.

[Cryptkeeper]

i got a great deal at a local resale store i got 14,1lb bags of tea for $1.50 ea.

all i did was to put 7 bags in a 5 gal bucket and then sealed it.tea is one of the drinks from the days of YOR, it may have taken months if not a year or so just fopr it to be shipped in. it should have a very long shelf life on its own without any special preping

[bobanderson]

I made earl grey tea from a ten year old bag that was factory sealed in a pouch.
It was a bit stale, but it was WAY better than I expected.
I imagine if you took a bit of time to take out o2 and vacuum seal, storing in a cool dark environment, you would have a very palatable product.
Remember, coffee and tea and spices were shipped overseas for hundreds of years before refrigeration, in dry storage. These things should keep quite well.

[TxHills]

Good replies all! Thanks so much again! Even though I've learned much since I've been here, I enjoy posting questions about things I don't yet know, and responses from you guys/gals...
I've still got a LOT to learn, and I can't think of a better forum to find the answers from folks that have been there, done that. I'm gittin there, a little at a time!

[FarmerJohn]

i get loose tea and vacume seal and keep the bags themselves seperate