How to Store Green Tea After Opening: Keep Loose Leaves Fresh

I like a handsome tea tin, but I would spend money on the tea first. The packet it came in may be all the storage you need. What matters is closing it between uses and finding a place away from the heat and steam of the kitchen.

How to store opened green tea

If your tea comes in a foil pouch, there is no need to decant it into a jar. Roll the opening down and clip it shut. A cupboard shelf away from the cooker is a better home for it than the counter beside the kettle. Already have a tin? Put the closed pouch inside; keep the packet so you can still read the tea maker’s storage instructions.

Should I leave loose leaf tea in its original bag?

Usually, yes. I see little reason to transfer good tea from a pouch that closes well into a prettier container. Keeping the bag also means keeping the name, brewing recipe and storage instructions together. Ippodo recommends rolling the bag shut and clipping it, with or without a tin around it.

Glass jars are tempting because you can see the leaves. If you use one, give it a place inside the cupboard rather than on the windowsill. And check what shares the shelf: the spice cupboard would not be my first choice.

How long does green tea last after opening?

A large bag can take longer to finish than you expect. At 3 g of fresh leaves a day, 100 g lasts about 33 days. Buy 250 g instead and you have enough for roughly 83 days. Use your own daily amount for this calculation; 3 g is just an example.

For comparison, Ippodo recommends finishing its opened tea within about a month to enjoy its freshest flavor and aroma. That does not make day 31 an expiry date. It is advice about quality for that producer's tea, and another supplier may recommend a different timeframe.

My preference would be the smaller bag, especially with a tea I have not tried. A lower price per gram is less appealing if the last half of the packet sits around for months.

Does green tea need to go in the fridge?

An opened packet does not automatically need cold storage. Ippodo says room temperature is fine for its tea. For a packet you open every day, that also avoids the business of taking it in and out of the cold.

Keeping an unopened spare for much later is a separate question. Ippodo suggests freezing the sealed packet for longer storage. When you take it out, leave it sealed until it has reached room temperature—around five hours in its instructions—before opening it. Once opened, it says to store the tea at room temperature and not return it to the freezer.

Those details matter, so here are Ippodo's full freshness and freezing instructions. If your packet gives a different method, follow its maker's advice.

A quick cupboard check

• Is the inner bag closed, as well as the tin?
• Is it away from steam, sunshine and strong-smelling foods?
• Have you marked when you opened it?
• Can the spare packets stay sealed until this one is finished?

One big bag or several small ones?

A shopper on r/greentea found that a pound of sencha came as four sealed packets. Useful, but check the listing before ordering; another size or seller may pack it differently.

And if a newly opened tea tastes weak, the cupboard may have nothing to do with it. In why green tea tastes like water, I explain how a large mug can dilute a recipe meant for a small cup. Try that check before buying a replacement bag.

There is no reason to drink extra cups just to use up a purchase. As I mention in my article on green tea benefits, the habit should fit your day.