20% Bitterleaf Promo Codes ( Bitterleaf Coupon Codes) 2025

The most redeemed Bitterleaf discount codes

How to store white tea (or any other type of tea)

As the popularity of white tea increases, so does the number of questions about the proper storage of this freshly processed tea. Well, let's clear this up now.

When it comes to storing and aging teas, the puer is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But now that people are making a big deal out of aged white teas, more and more cakes are being bought in hopes of turning these babies to gold in the future. Similar to puer, it will take time and patience.

If you're already familiar with puer storage or have a setup that works for you, that's fine. Some of this can be carried over into white tea. Recommendations that remain the same:

Avoid sunlight. This is the biggest for any tea, not just puer or white. All teas are vampires and they hate the sun.

Avoid strong smells or fragrances. Again, they're vampires, so no garlic. In fact, no smell of food in general. Perfumes, fragrances or other bathroom or cleaning odors should also be kept at a distance and not enter the same room as your tea. This also applies to all teas.

Keep one type teas together. Just as you would keep your sheng with sheng, shou with shou, and not mix the cakes in the same container or closed place, you should keep your white tea cakes together. You can choose to separate them further by types/regions/ages if you like, but that's probably not crucial, especially if you're short on space.

These are recommendations that apply to any tea, whether for a short or long period of time. But if we've been experiencing old puer and white tea for a long time, why does anything need to be different? The reason is that the changes they go through are not identical.

Puer undergoes oxidation and fermentation. This means that it is reacting (slowly) with air to oxidize, similar to what happens with black tea in a much more deliberate and shorter period of time, making the soup darker and smoother. And because it hasn't been fixed at a high enough temperature or long enough duration, it also undergoes fermentation at the microbial level due to the presence of active enzymes, which require a certain degree of humidity and can also be affected by temperature. That's why some people worry that a very dry environment 'dries up' their puer.

White tea, on the other hand, continues to age only through oxidation. In this case, only air is involved, and the additional moisture will not help or speed up the process as with the puer. Therefore, unlike the puer, our recommendations for the specific storage of white tea would be:

Avoid moisture. Keep cakes as dry as possible. This will help retain flavor and fragrance and, in more extreme cases, prevent mold. Your white tea is not at risk of drying out like your puer.

Keep it at a relatively low temperature. Additional heat is not needed and again only detracts from the overall fragrance. A dark and cool environment is ideal. You also don't want to go too low - don't put your white tea in the fridge or freezer. 15-20c is fine.

Restrict airflow. A theoretical argument against this could be made, as white tea's aging process is based on oxidation, but we are still inclined to err on the side of caution. Some airflow is good for the puer, but black, green, wulong, yellow, etc. teas. tend to have reduced fragrance.

The last unanswered question is about the type of container to store your white tea. Outdoors is not ideal for long term storage as you will not be able to restrict airflow or keep humidity stable in some cases. That leaves a few options:

Plastic cans or sealed containers. Just make sure they don't give off unpleasant or abnormal odors.

Cardboard boxes can work too, but again check for odors as not all boxes are created equal.

If you want to go further, clay pots made from something like Jianshui zitao will provide a very stable microclimate and will be pleasing to the eye (we even know a place that sells them).

A closet or closet. This is less ideal than the options above, but not the worst. Just make sure the tea isn't on a shelf above the spices or the stove.

Whichever option you choose, it also costs nothing to use Ziploc bags as a first layer for your white tea cakes. This will insulate them from the scary outside world and just provide an extra layer of protection.

After all that is done, sit down and wait. Your white tea will be turned to gold in no time! And at no point do we mean a few years. And by gold we mean a tea with a different flavor. If you need some material to start the process, we also offer help.