# Vacuum seal tea bags?



## UKarmr (Jul 25, 2011)

Just been to Costco ( yes, some things have made it across the pond)

Purchased a big old bag of my favourite tea bags (PG tips)
The bag is 3.5 kg and loose product inside. Going to split it down into 500g bags (enough tea for around a month). Should I vacuum seal or just seal?


----------



## tugboats (Feb 15, 2009)

We have vacuumed sealed our teas. Rotating through our stores has shown that there was minimal, if any, degredation in the taste quality. We have experimented with vac. sealed and frozen and vac. sealed and stored at cellar temps. Taste profiles after two years (this is our longest comparison) have not displayed any taste problems. 

Frozen or room temperature storage does not seem to affect the flavor profile in this limited time period. I have not experimented with tea beyond this limited two year period. 

I do have a question. What is your favorite basket for use with loose teas? Everything we have tried has had less than fovorable results. Loose tea in the cup bothers my bride. This does not affect me directly but if the "boss is unhappy" I will not be happy.


----------



## UKarmr (Jul 25, 2011)

Thanks for the response tugboat.
when I said loose product inside, I meant there were 1600 teabags in one big plastic bag!
I cant be doing with the hassle of loose tea, it does taste good, but it is a hassle, same reason I switched from fresh coffee to regular instant stuff.


----------



## caveman (Sep 27, 2011)

Vacuum seal seems to work fine for my luzianne tea bags also. The packaging says they are good for about twoyears as is, and I would have to stock up quite a bit for it to go bad.


----------



## BayouShaman (Aug 17, 2011)

My experience with loose tea has ranged from the using a special little tea service and things to brew it in, to today, when I just do not have time for silliness. Nowadays, if i buy loose teas, I use it like coffee. About 4 scoops to a automatic coffee brewer or a Mr Iced Tea brewer and same amount of water. It comes out fine for me. If a bit strong, add a bit of hot water to your cup. For iced, the ice dilutes it enough.

Mind you, I drink it Southern style and sweet and like it strong. If you are a purist, then get a separate brewer for tea and don't use for coffee.

Works for me. YMMV.

As for storing it, vacuum or at least air reduced (as in a zip lock with air compressed as you can) works best after opening the wrapped box, as others have said. Coffee (ground) is the same, pretty much. I have coffee that was vacuum packed by the manufacturer which is still fine after 8 years, though it does tend to reduce a bit faster upon opening than fresh so may be a bit drier after storage that long (?). I just have a care to keep it sealed once I open a bag that old. In future I may buy some unground if I start worrying about caffeine fixes in the TEOTWAWKI.


----------



## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

UKarmr said:


> Thanks for the response tugboat.
> when I said loose product inside, I meant there were 1600 teabags in one big plastic bag!
> I cant be doing with the hassle of loose tea, it does taste good, but it is a hassle, same reason I switched from fresh coffee to regular instant stuff.


INSTANT COFFEE????? !!!!! GAG..barf... OK I'm spitting now !!... Profanity is not allowed in the forum!!...:club:

Having survived on C rat instant coffee for way too long in my misspent youth I can't even stand the smell!!

My # 1 fav tea is split between Earl Gray and Peppermint, I like the PMint in the evening when it's cold also to settle an upset tummy... outside of that just plain ol Lipton for sun tea.... I did make a gallon last week with 3 big bags of Lipton...and for the hell of it I tossed in a small bag of Pmint....NEVER AGAIN!... I thought it would be a good thing... NOT!!!...


----------



## BayouShaman (Aug 17, 2011)

HozayBuck said:


> INSTANT COFFEE????? !!!!! GAG..barf... OK I'm spitting now !!... Profanity is not allowed in the forum!!...:club:


 too funny, and sort of my reaction as well. But, when I was in Haiti, getting a cup of coffee was maybe possible near dawn, but forget it later in the day. I learned to pack a jar of instant, and a box of those portion sized creamers and expected to drink it cold if I wanted any. Consequently, I do have a couple jars in my stash, given how prices have gone up so much and sizes shrunk for coffee. Most instants will dissolve in cold water.


----------



## StrayDog (May 2, 2011)

tugboats said:


> We have vacuumed sealed our teas. Rotating through our stores has shown that there was minimal, if any, degredation in the taste quality. We have experimented with vac. sealed and frozen and vac. sealed and stored at cellar temps. Taste profiles after two years (this is our longest comparison) have not displayed any taste problems.
> 
> Frozen or room temperature storage does not seem to affect the flavor profile in this limited time period. I have not experimented with tea beyond this limited two year period.
> 
> I do have a question. What is your favorite basket for use with loose teas? Everything we have tried has had less than fovorable results. Loose tea in the cup bothers my bride. This does not affect me directly but if the "boss is unhappy" I will not be happy.


Well, if nothing more than the basic... Have you tried coffee filters in a strainer? Works good for a number of things here and are cheap as well as easy. :dunno:


----------



## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm not an instant coffee lover either--but DG had the tall jars for 50 cents...I couldn't just leave them on the shelf..that's not me!!!:2thumb:


----------



## UKarmr (Jul 25, 2011)

Ok ok, when I say instant- I certainly don't mean anything like the nasty stuff you get in rations! I only drink either Gold blend or carte noir. My wife bought me a field coffee filter, fits on top of a mug and has mesh inside- used it for my first brew after invading Iraq! Very civilised.

As to tea- Liptons? Wow- and you guys abuse me over coffee? I had to suffer liptons for a while in Canada, until my wife sent me some PG. Liptons is weak and flavourless! You should try some decent stuff!


----------



## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

UKarmr said:


> Just been to Costco ( yes, some things have made it across the pond)
> 
> Purchased a big old bag of my favourite tea bags (PG tips)
> The bag is 3.5 kg and loose product inside. Going to split it down into 500g bags (enough tea for around a month). Should I vacuum seal or just seal?


I UKarmr, I too love PG Tips, wonderful stuff. Its almost impossible to find where I live, as is Costco. :dunno: Guess that's what I get for living in the boonies.

I have little drawstring bags I use for my loose tea.

Take care,
Moose


----------

