Keep tea away from air, light, moisture and heat. If you live in a humid area, you'll probably have trouble keeping tea fresh. An airtight container works best, one that is just big enough to hold the bags without a lot of extra air around them. Rubbermaid or Tupperware will work if you keep it out of the light, but remember that the plastic will probably pick up the scent of the tea so you want to use it only for that tea to avoid odor transfer.

If you want to store the tea on a counter, treat yourself to a pretty ceramic jar with a rubber gasket lid. A metal container will work in less humid areas. Whatever you do, don't put it in the fridge. It'll go stale very fast.

Teas flavored with citrus tend to lose their flavor very quickly.

Have you tried the Lemon Zinger iced? I like it that way.

As for hot teas, my favorites right now are Darjeeling and a blend called Kentucky Blend sold by a company called Elmwood Inn Teas. I don't often drink flavored black teas, but I did find a ginger flavored tea last winter that I liked. I think Harney & Sons was the brand.

Have you ever tried Good Earth Original tea? I think it's mostly herbs rather than true tea, but it tastes like a cinnanom and spice tea but it's naturally sweet and doesn't need a bit of sugar in it.

I don't drink a lot of tea so I put it in a ziplock and freeze it.

Good Earth tea. Oh yeah. I used to eat at the original restaurant in Palo Alto. The whole place smelled like that tea!

DH remembers their homefires with a smile. I think that was before my time there. I drank a LOT of their tea last winter, though, when I was trying to cut down on sugar.
*waves hi*

Bobby - I have absolutely no advice on keeping the bags fresh, other than possibly to store it in the freezer.

My personal fav is Darjeeling, "the champagne of teas".

I buy my own herbs, store in a glass jar (away from heat and light) and blend my own. The tea that is sold commercially is IMO like drinking dirt ... LOL ! Herbs, stored properly, should have a shelf life of one year.

DH uses a tea ball, I prefer to float my leaves whole in the cup and then strain through a sieve.

If you ever have tea this way, you will never buy a commercial brand again. It is like the difference between fresh ground coffee and that "other stuff" :)

We buy Harney & Sons tea. Some folks might think it's expensive, but their teas are no more expensive than the "fancy" ones you get in a supermarket. Except they're alot fresher. You can go to their website for info about where you can purchase their teas, or you can order online. We're fortunate enough to live about an hour away from their shop, which includes their tea tasting room, gift shop, and cafe, and their warehouse/headquarters are located just down the road from their shop. We make the trip around 4 times a year to stock up. We like black tea and they have an absolutely superior selection. We got hooked on their tea about 5 years ago and have never looked back ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Harney & Sons

I've always been happy with Celestial Seasonings...they have a website. You might ask them directly why your tea isn't keeping fresh.

seagrass

Here is a link that might be useful: Customer Service

Well, look who's here! Howdy, "bean" woman!

Bobby, I enjoy tea immensely..My most favorite tea is TJ's Pomegranite White Tea!!!!!
I tend to buy teas for myself that are individually packaged. But when I buy black tea (orange Pekoe) for hubby I stuff the tea bags into a large mouth quart canning jar and keep them in the tea and coffee cupboard.

In regards to commercial teas I find the ones in individual foil packages keep longer. I keep mine in a sealed container to keep it fresh. I am not much into herb or non black teas. I love Darjeeling, Orange Pekoe, English Breakfast and Good Earth tea. (I miss their restaurants! None around here anymore.)
Clare

WTF?

I read an article once in Consumer reports on tea quality. The general consensus was that tea in bags just doesn't have the best taste. The bag interferes with the water's interaction with the tea leaves. When it comes to making good tea, the water has to be boiling hot and the intial swirling of the loose tea and the boiling water is what produces the best flavor. In other instances, the longer the tea steeps, the more "paper" flavor in your tea. You might look for a tea ball and find a lemony, citrusy loose leaf blend you like. Earl grey and Lady grey are two of the older citrusy styles. I make my chai tea with fresh spices for the best taste, and I imagine other teas are the same. Store in an air tight container, definately. Time and air are the enemy of a good cup of tea, in so many ways. Same with coffee.

The old fashioned way of making tea was to first heat the tea pot by pouring a first round of boiling water in it, then draining, then measuring the tea into the pot, loose leaf, then adding the boiling water, then waiting for the tea leaves to sink to the bottom before pouring the beverage into a cup. Can also use a strainer to get out any stray tea leaf bits. Grandma always had tea bits left in the bottom of her cup, that's how she read your fortune!

My goodness. I guess it's time to restock my teas. We still serve the ones that DW moved in with, ummm, four plus years ago? And how old were they even then? What must the guests be saying?! (Here's hoping they judge me on my liquor cabinet and not my tea tin!)

Hi, Barnmom.
Wow. I'm sort of surprised how many of the same folks are still here. :)

Hi Beanthere!

It's nice to see you. Yes, a LOT of us are still here, but lots of great new people too.

Lee

If you're really into your hot tea, I would recommend an electric kettle. There's nothing like it!

I'll one up that electric kettle with a hot water tap right on the sink! I don't have one, but I covet my sister's!

Beanthere - is that who I think it is, my friend!?!

AM

Here's one of my pet peeves about tea. When you go to a restuarant and order coffee the wait-staff comes over several times to refill your cup. When you order tea you get asked if you'd like some more hot water. What? to pour over my wet soggy, already used up tea bag? NO! I'd like a nice fresh cup just like the guy with the coffee got.

And another thing, why does tea get served with a teabag on the side of a cup of previously boiled water? Is it so hard for restaurants to brew tea, or at least pour the boiling water over the teabag? Why not serve it right. It really isn't any harder than serving good coffee, nor more expensive. There, now that's off my chest. Thank you for listening.

I drink decaf tea because of my heart so I find it difficult to find a really good selection. My favorites are TJ's decaf English breakfast (black) and Celestial Seasonings decaf China Pearl (white). I really like white tea, it has a very delicate flavor. I drink my tea black, I have not added sweetener for years. If I try a tea and I feel I need to add something to it, I don't buy it again. I figure really good tasting tea should not need anything added. Of course, until a few years ago I always drank my coffee (decaf) black too, then I discovered Lattes!

I have to agree with mimsic about tea in restaurants. Some of the places we go bring out an insulated pot with water and a bowl of tea bags so you can have whatever you want, at other places I keep a spare china pearl tea bag in my purse and use that for a second pot! I don't mind that the bag comes out separate from the pot of water, at home it usually takes me a few minutes to pour the water into my tea pot after it finishes heating. But every restaurant we eat at brings the water out in a separate covered pot, not in the cup.

Hi Lee, Hi AM -
Um...probably.
You can blame Annie. It's all her fault.

We can blame a lot on Annie! Thanks Annie!

Hi there Bean, nice to see you here.

Tracey

I am a tea drinker but have always stuck with good old Orange Pekoe black tea, Red Rose or Salada. Never had an issue storing it just keep it in a dark place.

Well hello there beanthere! Great to see you back! Yeah Annie......

Noone has mentioned Tazo teas. Their Wild Sweet Orange is my favorite, delicious without sugar or lemon. I always stick a few in my suitcase when we will be staying at a hotel with a coffeemaker.

Seriously, WTF?

...so my attempts at coaxing you back here weren't successful. Oh well, you're here now. Welcome back Ms. Puppyseeds.

Sol

Oh mimsic, that is just the start of the tea drinker's pet peeves! When I go to meetings at US hotels, 9 out of 10 will have the hot water in pots that also get used for coffee - sometimes the water comes out a bit tan but even when it is clear it has a definite stale coffee odor. Then there are the cold ceramic cups - pour the water in them and there is no way it is hot enough to get the flavor out of the tea bag - even warming the cup by pouring one cup of water dumping and pouring another barely works because the water is in pots designed to hold coffee well below boiling temps.

Then they think anything in a bag counts as tea - sometimes they only put out the herbal ones and something like earl grey. I like a nice black tea, not something flavored with flowers.

England, Japan, China and usually Canada are better for tea drinkers. Tea water is usually served in dedicated hot pots delivering water at the right temperature. And if they are really nice the cups are pre-warmed in a chafing dish. It is still usually bag tea so they can offer flavors, though sometimes they have brewed but at least it is decent bag tea.

I like going to Peet's Coffee and Tea where they take the tea as seriously as the coffee and brew a cup with loose tea.

lpinkmountain, having water just off the boil is the right temperature for brewing black tea. Water should be a bit cooler for green tea. I'm not sure what is best for herbal floral teas.

I usually read that herbal teas should be brewed for 10 mintues. The longer the brew, the more antioxidants that get into the water. But with a paper bag, the more paper flavor that can leach into the cup too.

I never knew that about green tea. Does a cooler brewing water make it less bitter? I cannot seem to become a fan of green tea. It seems to vary a great deal to me, some sips are good and some sips are bitter. It has the most antioxidant benefits though. I wish I liked it more. I'm a black tea traditionalist. Strong malty tea with milk is my favorite.

Hi there old bean! ;)

I very much agree about the miserable way tea is served in restaurants. The water in those little hot pots all too often isn't even hot enough for for pleasant drinking, let alone hot enough to brew the tea.

Back to the original question. Wild lemon zinger is an all-natural herb tea which has different requirements from real-tea-leaf teas. I think the OP's idea about immediately vacuum sealing the bags is probably he best way to preserve the flavor. It's likely that the "air" in the unopened package is nitrogen, and that once opened the flavors start reacting with oxygen. Immediately sucking out the air should preserve as much of the flavor as possible.

I like many Celestial Seasonings teas and admire their commitment to the environment. However, it was one thing when theirs were the only herbal teas around. But now, with so many flavors available, aside from having to deal with those imperfectly-resealable boxes, having to find space for them until the last tagless and otherwise unidentifiable bag is used makes their products a lot less convenient than those of the competition.

lpinkmountain:

My favorite green tea is Genmai-cha, a blend of roasted brown rice and green tea. I was buying it in bag form in a health food store for some extravagant price and then I found it in an asian market in bulk form. It comes in a foil pouch inside a box. I put it into a zip lock and store what I will use soon in my tea stash (formerly the cookie jar) on the counter. The rest goes into the freezer.

I'm thinking you might like the Genmai-cha better than plain green tea. I don't care much for plain green tea and I love Genmai-cha. The bulk type I get also has tiny little popped seeds that look like mini popcorn but I think are sorghum seeds. I don't think they add much flavor but they are very pretty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mine looks like this.

Cloud_Swift, I think we just never got our hackles down after that Boston Tea Party thing. LOL!

The numbers usually banded about are:
For black teas and herbal tisanes (mint, chamomile, etc) = 212 F (full boil). Steep 4-5 minutes.
For Oolong = 196-206 F (just under a boil). Steep 3-5 minutes
For green and white = 165-180 F. Steep green 1-3 minutes and white 3-8 minutes.

Personally, I disregard the specifics on the steep time and simplify it to "anything over four minutes is flirting with disaster." We all have different tastes. My SIL takes her tea so weak I don't know why she even bothers. She could save herself a lot of money by just looking at a tea bag while she drinks hot water. :)

Herbal decoctions (made with seeds, roots, etc) are a whole other ballgame, especially if you're trying to get any therapeutic value from it (such as licorice and ginger root for a sore throat.) I've got one that is supposed to simmer for 20 minutes. Sure, I can get a good tasting cup of tea out of it in 5 minutes, but it's meant to be a therapeutic decoction.

As for tea in restaurants, I keep a tea bag or two with me and just order hot water. The sorry truth is that up until very recently -- and even now only in the better restaurants -- hot tea was less than an afterthought. It's on the menu because for very cheap they can look like they are offering another beverage option, and it's minimal work for the staff because it is so seldom ordered. (And, of course, part of the reason it is seldom ordered is because it's usually stale and so badly presented.) Usually a "variety pack" is purchased from the distributor as an afterthought and if it takes two, three years to sell it, then oh well. I remember one place I worked -- the head waitress had been there five years and told me that the same "variety box" of tea was there when she started. Yuck! (Yes, I threw it out.) Thank goodness that's starting to change, but constomers really do need to speak up and demand better teas served properly.

DH and I used to like Tazo. Then the company was purchased by another company that I will not do business with and became taboo at our house. Just call it a personal vendetta; and leave it at that. *smile*

Ooo...Genmai-cha! Yum!

What I'd like to figure out is how to make Thai iced tea that tastes as good as the restuarants. My attempts always taste...American.

Sol, honey, don't take it personally. The thought of your chocolate meringues nearly worked, really! And if my email to Annie hadn't bounced, I might have held out still. :)

I'm still here too, uh, "Beaner" -- LOL. Hi!

I drink so much tea it doesn't have a chance to go stale. I personally don't consider tea to be tea unless it's made from tea leaves. Herbals are infusions, or "tisanes" - like Hercule Poirot liked to drink.

I love chai and if I had time I'd make it from scratch, but for now I buy bags and I have Indian "tea masala" spice mix that I add to black tea.

I'm a total addict.

There's a pretty nice bag tea that I sometimes find in supermarkets called, Barry's teas. I have some decafe bags of it in a tin in the back of my cabinet that comes out every time a friend who only drinks decafe is over for tea. She finds it very soothing and close enough to the real thing to make her feel she's not on a special diet.

I have a newly installed instant hot tap at my sink that is at close to 212 and is great for tea. I have a nice little mesh tea basket that fits over the top of most of my cups for loose tea. There are a few places locally I can get nice teas. I am not nearly as fussy as I probably should be but I do like the loose tea better than the bags. I like Earl Grey but not most other floral flavors. I am not a fan of the Herbals but keep them on hand for guests who seem to like the apple-cinnamon ones the best. Sometimes either Sleepytime or Tension Tamer from Celestial Gardens fits the bill for me late at night. I never put honey, sugar or milk (gasp!j Please no milk!)in my tea, no matter what kind I'm drinking. For stomach aches, I grate fresh ginger into a cup and add boiling water, let it brew for a few minutes.

Wow! Tea likes and dislikes can drive one crazy. I drink tea for a change and I've learned to like the Thai and Chai tea concoctions because they are so different to regular way of brewing tea. I'm a regular coffee drinker but like tea coffee is much better fresh. I just don't have the patience to grind beans first thing in the morning, so the best I can do is buy a few ounces at a busy grocery and grind there. The first day or two of that coffee is so great but it declines rapidly after that even though I keep it tightly sealed in an air tight can that can hold the bag it's in. That's probably the appeal of Starbucks, Peets and other coffee houses. I don't order tea in restaurants as I also hate the way it's served and they seldom offer you a second cup; even when t hey bring you the rack of bags fresh hot water is not readily available.

lpinkmountain, having the water too hot can make green tea bitter. Steeping too long can also do that. For black tea, I'll rinse the pot or cup with hot water then add the tea leaves then pour in nearly boiling water. For green tea, I put the hot water into the cup and let it sit for a couple of minutes which gets it to about the right temperature then add the tea. Also, don't steep the leaves in the tea too long - a couple of minutes is usually enough for green tea.

As barnmom suggests you might like the Genmai-cha better than plain green tea. I have a friend that likes the genmai-cha but not plain. The toasted grain flavor of the rice in it makes it so nice. It is one of my favorites.

You might try sencha (Japanese) tea which has a different flavor and, I think, less tendency to brew bitter than the Chinese green teas. I like both kinds but they don't taste the same.

Sometimes with Chinese teas, they suggest rinsing the leaves with a pour of hot water before pouring in the water to steep. That is also suppose to remove bitterness. I usually don't do it but some people are more sensitive to bitterness.

Also try using filtered water. I haven't had as much trouble with green tea, but some minerals in water seem to make black tea turn out yucky. When couldn't get good results with making tea with the tap water at my in-laws in Glendora.

Terrapots: Try keeping the coffee in the freezer. You can use it straight from the freezer just as you would if it were sitting on the counter. I think you'll find it keeps its flavor longer that way. I used to grind everyday, then got lazy and started having my coffee ground at the shop where I buy it. Either way, I keep it in the freezer.

Actually, it's not recommended to put coffee in the freezer for a couple of reasons. First, when you take the coffee in and out of the freezer, consdensation forms, staling the coffee or tea. Coffee "oil" is not an true oil, but is a water soluable colloid. Second, the condensation from the frost-free freezer cycling through the defrost mode will form ice crystals in coffe beans (same as in your ice cream or veggies) and it can chip or even break the blades or burrs on grinders. It's not something that happnes frequently, but it's not uncommon.

Once coffee is ground, however, it starts to stale immediately due to increased surface exposure to air, humidity, temperature extremes, so you've already lost a lot of the flavor within 24 hours.

Still, freezer is better than the fridge by 1000%. If you're going to put coffee in the fridge, you may as well just buy isntant, IMO.

I drink sleepytime every night about an hour before going to bed. I keep mine once opened in a dark jar in the cupboard.

bean, it seems like those are good reasons not to store coffee beans in a frost-free refrigerator or take them in and out each day to get the daily dose.

Sometimes it happens that we find ourselves with an extra bag of beans (e.g. someone gives us some when we already have a supply or we get our wires crossed and both buy beans). Then we will put the bag in the chest freezer. Our chest freezer doesn't have a self defrost - so no cycling. The beans will go in once and come out once and the package doesn't need to be opened until they are up to room temperature so there shouldn't be condensation on the beans. It seems better than keeping the beans at room temperature until we are ready to use them.

Cloud, That's exactly what I would do if I had a surplus on my hands and it was good coffee. I wish I could get my MIL to do it! With as many coffee snobs as there are in this family, you'd think we would have had some influence on her by now. :) She'll buy two pounds "because it's convenient" and since it's only her now, who knows how old it is by the time one of us visits and she offers to make a pot? She can't figure out why I always decline and ask for water. LOL!
I've really learned to dislike frost free freezers. My next one will be a manual defrost. Frankly, I think it's worth the once or twice a year chore.

We found an easy solution to the ground-coffee-going-stale, don't-want-to-grind-in-the-morning conundrum -- cold brewed coffee. We brew the whole package at once (up to a pound), keep the concentrate in the fridge, and prepare each cup as we need it. It makes coffee that tastes as good as it smells.

I always keep coffee in the freezer and have very good results. First, I usually buy freshly roasted coffee. I keep the coffee in an airtight container, a glass jar with rubber gasket. I take the jar out daily, scoop a few measures into my coffee cone, replace jar to freezer and continue making coffee. Yes, the coffee is exposed to air and light everyday for a minute but I have not noticed any ill effects. One jar lasts about 2 weeks and tastes good all the way through. I just did a search for 'storing coffee' and read that coffee kept in the freezer should be very carefully wrapped and daily coffee should be kept on the counter in an airtight ceramic jar for a week or 2. The counter top has not been successful for me, the freezer has. I am not a great coffee maven but I do like a decent cup.

Yeah, I'll take the blame for the return of beanthere, I'm just glad she came "home"!

Oh yeah, tea. I drink coffee in the morning and then switch to tea for the afternoon. Being a peasant, I still like my old standby, Twining's Irish Breakfast, although Readinglady sent me some that I also liked and I can't remember the name because the tea is at home and I'm at work.

I don't like most herbals, although I do like mint tea occasionally. One of my favorites came from Big Valley Coffee, now out of business. I also seriously miss their Maggie Valley Blend.

I was having some serious issues with my stomach for a while and had to give up coffee completely. Now my life (and my stomach) has settled down a bit, I've gone back to two cups in the morning. Sometimes three. Never Starbucks, it just tastes burned to me, but I do buy coffee from a local place here called Beaners.

Anyway, welcome back, R, I missed you.

Annie

I'm a tea drinker in fact I haven't used my coffee pot in over a year.I had been drinking green tea but decided I needed a change and started drinking Darjeeling which I like a lot. Someone mentioned Red Rose and that is my favorite but I can only find it in a town about 20 miles from here. The first time I tasted Red Rose was in Canada several years ago and I wanted to bring some home. When stopped at the border for inspection they could not believe we were just bringing TEA back to the US. LOL!
Lois

Annie, Twinings Irish Breakfast was what turned me onto hot tea. :) I'm willing to bet you would like Nilgiri, too. It's a tea grown in India, and has a similar body and hint of malty sweetness like the Assam (from which Irish Blend is made), but IMO it's a little smoother.

Someone reurned a book to me via mail last week and as a thank you she included a couple bags of Constant Comment. I had not had that in probably 20 years. I'd forgotten how much I like it.

The one I cannot get my tongue around is Lapsang. Too smoky for me.

I hope I don't insult anyone here. If I do, it's really not intended and I apologize in advance.

The only thing in common between coffee and tea is both have caffeine. Although, some more than others. Other than that, please don't compare coffee with tea. One is a bean and the other is a leaf! Beans, you may freeze them, leaves, you don't. Think about it, would you freeze lettuce? Even if they've dried up? The moisture created in the freezer will ruin the tea.

As for floral tea, if the flowers are not mixed in with the tea leaves, it is not tea and of course, do not contain caffeine. It's considered under tea in a sense that you'd add hot water to the dried flowers for serving.

To preserve tea, as beanthere_dunthat mentioned, keep in a dry, cool and dark area (away from the sun). If you can, vacuum pack the tea in smaller quantity, it's the best way to preserve them longer. Then, place the tea packages in double-lid containers. Avoid clear glass containers which allow light going through. Ceramic or stainless steels are fine.

As for how long they'd last? That depends on the type of tea. Remember, Pu-erh tea is priced as they aged. Similar to wine, the older they are, the more costly they are.

As with any food, leaving the tea leaves in whole would preserve its flavour longer than chopped it or grind it down into small pieces. That's one of the reason that many of us serious tea drinkers prefer whole tea leaves vs. small chopped up tea leaves in tea bags. Although, I do drink various types.

As for preparation, use spring water if you can or filtered drinking water. This would help to bring out the most flavor and aroma of the tea. Avoid using tea bags or stainelss steel strainers for these do not allow the tea leaves to expand enough in order to release the flavor.

The temperature of the water depends on the type of tea. cloud_swift had mentioned it above. You can find more details from tea vendors website. Most would recommend you the water temperature for your choice of tea. Do a Google search and you'd find plenty of info. Most important thing to remember, when the oxygen content in the water is reduced, the tea will taste flat. This is the reason why you wouldn't want the water to boil too long.

Black, Pu-erh and Oolong teas are washed in hot water (barely boiling if you don't use a thermometer) once or twice before serving to allow the dried leaves to open. Basically, pour hot water into the tea leaves for about 20 seconds, then, pour the water out. Once they've been infused once or twice, you'd be able to taste the true flavor better on the next infusion. The more they're infused, the more intense the flavor and aroma would be. Of course, there's a limit of how many infusions each tea can have before the flavor is used up.

You wouldn't need to do this with Green tea. When infusing green tea, use barely boiling water, then let it sit for about 5 minutes to cool it down a little before adding the water into the tea.

If you have an interest in tea, I'd recommend watching the history of "Tea" that was shown on Modern Marvels by the History Channel. You can purchase the DVD at the link below.

Tea is a wonderful and mysterious drink. It inspired many famous poets in the Asian world. It warms you if you're cold; yet, it also cools you when you're hot. It releases all of your stress and relaxes you. It calms you down when you're overwhelmed. It satisfies you in ways that no other drinks can.

Next thing to learn is which teapot to use with which tea =o) I have one for Osmanthus Oolong tea, one for jasmine green tea and one for other flavor teas. Ok, that would be another thread.

In the mean time, take time for Tea Time and Enjoy! =)

Here is a link that might be useful: http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=77087