Store dried flowers and herbs for tea in an airtight container, in the dark, somewhere cool and dry, and away from strong smells. Light, heat, air and moisture are what take the aroma out of them, so good storage simply keeps all four away. Do that and a bag of whole botanicals keeps its character for a long time; ignore it and even the best leaf goes flat.
What makes dried herbs lose their flavour?
Most of what you taste in a herbal tea is aroma, and aroma comes from volatile oils that slowly escape and break down once a plant is dried. Four things speed that up:
- Light, especially sunlight, which fades both colour and aroma.
- Heat, which drives the volatile oils off faster. A shelf above the kettle or the cooker is the worst spot in the kitchen.
- Air, which carries the aroma away every time a loosely closed bag is opened and left.
- Moisture, which makes dried botanicals soft and clumpy and, at worst, lets mould grow.
What is the best container for dried herbs?
Anything airtight that keeps the light out: a tin, a dark glass jar, or a clear jar kept in a closed cupboard. A resealable pouch works too, as long as you squeeze the air out and seal it properly each time. Avoid clear jars on an open shelf, however good they look.
Size matters a little. A half-empty jar holds a lot of air, so if you buy in quantity, keep most of it sealed and decant a few weeks’ worth into a smaller jar for everyday use.
Should you keep dried herbs in the fridge?
No. A cold jar taken into a warm kitchen collects condensation, and moisture is exactly what dried botanicals need to avoid. A cupboard away from the cooker, the kettle and the dishwasher is better than the fridge.
Do whole flowers keep better than crushed ones?
Yes, by a long way. Crushing or grinding exposes far more surface to air, so the aroma escapes much faster. Whole rose buds keep their scent far longer than loose petals, and cut pandan or lemongrass pieces outlast anything sold as dust. If you like a finer texture in the pot, break flowers or leaves up just before brewing rather than before storing.
How long do dried herbs for tea keep?
As a rough guide, food-preservation specialists suggest using dried leafy herbs within about a year for the best flavour, and checking anything ground after around six months. Whole pieces last longer than ground ones. These are quality limits, not safety ones: well-dried herbs kept dry do not become unsafe with age, they simply taste of less. Your nose is a better judge than any date.
How can you tell if dried herbs have gone stale?
Use your nose. Rub a little between your fingers and smell it: good dried pandan smells warm and sweet, peppermint smells sharply of menthol, lemongrass of lemon peel. If you have to search for the smell, the tea will taste as faint as it smells. Faded colour is the other giveaway.
Stale is not the same as spoiled. Stale botanicals are simply weak. But if you see mould, find damp clumps or smell anything musty, throw the batch away.
Keeping strong and delicate teas apart
Dried botanicals pick up the smells around them. Keep assertive ones such as peppermint and lemongrass in their own sealed containers, well away from delicate flowers like rose and chamomile, and away from coffee and spices. The same goes for anything you use to brew: a strainer or jar that has held peppermint will carry it into the next pot unless it is washed.
Finally, buy in amounts you will realistically drink. Every product page shows roughly how many cups each size makes, and how much to use per cup explains the arithmetic.