If you don’t drink tea as quickly as some avid tree tea drinkers, then you might wonder if freezing your tea bags is an excellent way to make them last longer. But does freezing your tea bags cause more harm than good?
You shouldn’t keep your tea bags in the freezer or refrigerator if you are trying to make them last for a long time before using them. Being in the freezer can result in condensation, which can deteriorate the tea taste faster. However, putting it in the fridge is a good idea if you’ve already used the tea bag and want to save it for 24 hours to use it again.
Can You Freeze and Reuse Tea Bags?
If you’re planning on reusing your tea bags, then putting them in the freezer or refrigerator so that you can use them the next day is a good decision. And this case, you want to try to keep moisture in the tea bag so that it doesn’t dry out and lose all its flavor, but you also don’t want mold and bacteria to grow in it.
Remember that if you are storing your tea bag to reuse it in the freezer, you should only wait 24 hours before using it again. Freezing your tea bags isn’t a solution for keeping them for days or weeks.
Don’t Freeze Pu’erh Tea
One thing you never want to freeze is Pu’erh because it is a more natural tea and is going to last a lot longer when it isn’t frozen. An argument is that it tastes better the longer you leave it, and freezing can interfere with that maturing stage. The best way to store Pu’erh tea is to ensure it is in a dry place with natural airflow.
What is the Best Way to Store Tea Bags?
If you’re thinking about freezing your tea bags because you want to make them last longer, then the real tactic you should be using is to either keep them in their original box or put them in a plastic container or bin.
If you have loose leaf tea, you should store it in an airtight container, either made of tin or ceramic, because this will keep the light, affecting how long the tea lasts. You can also store loose leaf tea in glass jars if you’re storing it in a dark cupboard or drawer.
What are Frozen Tea Bags Good for?
Tea bags aren’t only helpful in drinking tea but can also have other medicinal properties. Freezing your tea bags and then using them to apply compresses to your eyes is a great way to relieve swelling and discoloration around your eyes. Black and green teas are the most useful to use before I and skin health.
How to Correctly Freeze Tea Bags
If you decided that you want to freeze your tea bags for some of the beneficial reasons talked about above, then here are some tips about how to do this the right way. You don’t want to throw your tea bags into your freezer and then take them out and expect that use them immediately.
Use a Watertight Container
Remember when we mentioned that you don’t want moisture from your freezer getting into your tea bags? Well, that applies to any way you store your tea. While having a little extra moisture for a used tea bag is alright, it will still affect the tea’s flavor, and you’re much better off using a watertight container to keep the flavor.
Avoid Odors
Another reason to keep your tea bags in a proper container because you don’t want them absorbing odors from other things in your freezer. Do not let anything like those external odors absorb into your tea bags because it will affect the overall flavor. Also, avoid using tea bags with a scent, as this could signify mold.
Keep Your Containers Clean
Keeping your containers as clean as possible is just as important as avoiding odors. Not only do you want to ensure anything you might consume is Queen of but also because the tea leaves can absorb anything that is in the air. Tea is also a plant so that it can decompose or develop mold.
Avoid Light
As mentioned above in this article, light can affect the overall flavor of your tea, so you want to ensure that you avoid exposure to too much light. Therefore, you want to avoid transparent or translucent containers such as plastic or glass.
Freeze Your Tea Bags in Batches
If you have many tea bags you eventually want to freeze, ensure that you freeze them in smaller sections. As previously discussed, if you’re going to freeze used tea bags, you need to use them quickly afterward. This includes putting the tea bags in water and then freezing them as cold compresses.
You aren’t going to be a story your tea bags for months on end, so it’s all right to freeze some of them and store them so that you can use them in the short term and batch and prepare some more once you’ve already worked through the previous batch.
Date Every Batch
Once you have finished preparing a batch of tea, it is best to add the date of when you are freezing it to help keep a record of how long the teeth will be in your freezer. It also helps ensure that you aren’t storing your tea too long.
Only Use Frozen Tea Bags Once
If you’re taking a tea bag out of the freezer, that is the only time you’re using it. Don’t try to refreeze your tea bag, as the freshness and piece of the tea bag will decline every time you thaw the tea bag. This is because each time the tea bag has frozen, the tea bag absorbs more moisture.
Conclusion
Freezing your tea bags isn’t a good idea if all you want to do is store tea bags for later use. However, if you’ve already used the tea bag and want to save it for the next day to reuse it, then freezing it or putting it in the fridge is a great way to store it. Frozen tea bags are also great for eye care.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.