Do people need to store tea in the fridge? We asked the experts. Photo / Getty Images
One otherwise uneventful evening, I came across a comment thread in a Facebook group where numerous people casually mentioned that they store their tea bags in the fridge.
Now, had this been just one isolated comment and I would have let it go but that was not the case. There were dozens of comments from people saying they keep their tea in the fridge, and have been doing so for years, as if that's somehow normal.
I was pretty convinced this should not be a thing that people do but I am slowly getting used to the idea that I may sometimes be wrong about stuff and, as such, decided to investigate further.
I quickly discovered two surprising things: 1) the packaging of Dilmah tea actually tells you to store your tea bags in the fridge and 2) some people apparently read the stuff on the box.
Armed with this newfound knowledge, I had a clue about where this idea of storing tea bags in the fridge had come from.
But is it truly the way we should be storing tea? In the cold, between the nearly empty ketchup bottle and the limp broccoli you told yourself you'd cook two days ago?
At the risk of sounding like I was making a storm in a teacup out of this (not even sorry), I needed to get to the bottom of it.
I decided to ask the actual experts.
Matt Parker at Twinings recommended storing tea in "a cool, dark and dry storage area".
He also warned against keeping tea bags near a heat source, like your stove.
"Storing tea properly is key to ensuring that we can savour a consistent taste time and time again. Essentially we want to prevent oxidation, which can be accelerated when the tea is stored in a heated environment, causing a loss of flavour. For instance, a kitchen cabinet near the cooking hob is not ideal."
While he says storing tea in the fridge is "not completely abnormal", Parker does not recommend it for daily usage, again because of condensation problems.
"Very occasionally, we store some of our specialty, delicate artisan loose leaf teas in the fridge, as storing in a fridge will help prevent oxidation and extend the shelf life of tea. However, extra caution needs to be taken as this may cause condensation which, again, can adversely affect the quality," he said.
If you still choose to store your tea in the fridge, Twinings recommends the stored tea is allowed to "'warm up' naturally to normal room temperature - which can be a long wait and rather inconvenient".
"It is a personal choice, but if you follow the basic principles of storing tea in an air-tight container in a cool, dark, place and away from any strong-smelling substances, you can enjoy your favourite cuppa without much fuss," Parker added.
According to Doug Hastie, director of Chanui, "the best way to store tea is dry, out of air, and out of light".
In fact, he says storing tea that way will make it "last for years".
"We store our tea in a foil pack, and I recently found some old packs that were over 10 years old, and the tea still tasted great," Hastie added.
The Chanui director explicitly said he does not recommend storing tea in the fridge, because of potential condensation.
"I would not recommend storing tea in the fridge. It does keep it out of the light, but still needs to be in air tight container to keep the tea fresh. What would worry me is that the lower temperatures of the fridge may cause some condensation, which would not be good."
Finally, I also asked Dilmah, the brand that has that recommendation printed in its boxes, and, it turns out, I was (as usual) right all along and the Dilmah packaging does cause people to believe they should be storing their tea in the fridge - as mine wasn't the only query they've had about it.
The company uses a "global packaging standard" and the storage instructions on it don't actually apply to New Zealand.
"Our global packaging standard has always referred to storage instructions recommending transferring the tea into an airtight container and to then store that in a refrigerator. This is to account for many countries Dilmah is sold in which have far higher temperature and humidity levels which can adversely affect the freshness of tea," brand and product manager Jon Houldsworth said.
"In New Zealand, however, storing in a refrigerator is perfectly fine but not entirely necessary due to our more moderate temperatures and humidity levels," he added, explaining that the important thing is to keep the tea in an airtight container, in a cool dry place, avoiding direct sunlight "at the very least".
"Our tea is packed direct at the origin where we grow our own tea in Sri Lanka so we've always been very vocal about how important it is to keep tea fresh once opened. Tea is extremely hydroscopic so it can absorb moisture and other aromas that taint the flavour of the tea and too much heat or moisture starts to diminish the complex qualities of the tea."
Just when I thought I had enough information, I got another response from Dilmah - this one straight from the source in Sri Lanka, from the son of Dilmah founder Merrill J Fernando, Dilhan C Fernando, whose face features in the packaging of Dilmah worldwide.
Dilhan Fernando decided to respond because, he said, "the reference to storing tea bags in the fridge is almost certainly from my father, Dilmah Founder Merrill J Fernando".
The son of the founder says his father's request to customers to store tea in the fridge does not entirely apply to Kiwi customers as "heat should not be too much of an issue in New Zealand" as homes in the country never get so hot that they affect the flavour of the tea.
Dilhan Fernando also added that, to help avoid the flavour being "degraded by exposure to excessive heat", tea should be kept in a "cool, dry and clean storage container, ideally an airtight ceramic caddy".
"Glass containers are not ideal as they can trap heat," he added.
"Moisture is the most important potential concern as poor storage of tea, which allows the absorption of moisture, can lead in the development of mould in tea. Keeping tea – loose leaf or bags - in an open container could also allow the tea to absorb odours which can compromise flavour," the tea expert said.
Even when storing tea in the fridge, "it is important to ensure that it is done in an airtight container to protect from moisture, food odours and condensation".
The verdict: The confusion appears to have arisen from Dilmah's standardised packaging, which includes storage recommendations with hot and humid countries in mind. In New Zealand, you don't need to store your tea in the fridge. You can still choose to do it, if you really want to, but it's just adds a whole lot of extra time and faff to the brewing process.
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