My curiosities on the tea storage methods

The other day, I found a Japanese webpage recommending the slow-thawing method in keeping the tea inside the freezer. I usually leave it at room temperature about a few hours to defrost before I open the package, but this webpage tells us to leave it in a refrigerator for one day and for another day at room temperature and then you can open it. Wow! you need two days to open the package from the freezer. This webpage says that slow thawing is very important but it doesn’t explain why.


Konnichiwa, it’s meヽ(^。^)ノ The slow-thawing method must be good for the tea but I thought that I don’t want to take that time and effort. It is very unrealistic and not practical for casual tea. But, what if those steps make a tremendous difference on the taste of stored tea …


I have started to wonder if my storing method is the best. I came up with some questions regarding storage on the following topics.

1. Thawing time

Is the slow thawing really worth it?


2. Storage place

Some people say that you do not have to store teas in the refrigerator and a relatively cool room temperature is just okay. Some others say that freezer is a better place for storage. Where is really the best place to store tea at home, at the room temperature, refrigerator or freezer?


3. Times of thawing and exposure to the air

I thought that the frequent freezing-thawing and refreshing the air in the package would not be good for tea. If you pack it separately into small different containers when you store it inside the freezer, you could actually minimize those risks in theory. I wonder how effective it is and if it’s worth it.


I want to keep my tea in its best condition but at the same time I don’t want to spend too much effort or time just for storing it. I want to find out the crossover point in these two needs, and my own storing method. I’m planning to do some tests for the three above-mentioned topics. I got some materials for the tests, such as teas (sencha and matcha), small tea caddies and air-tight plastic bags (plastic bags with zipper). I’ll report them to you when I get the results. It may take one to six months. We’ll see! Jah!