Storage jar
An airtight opaque container for keeping tea away from its four enemies: air, light, moisture and odour. Glass looks appealing and fails on light; anything not airtight fails on the other three at once, and tea absorbs kitchen smells more readily than almost any dry good.
Identity
- Category
- Storage
- Native name
- 茶葉罐
- Romanised
- cha ye guan
- Also called
- tea jar, airtight jar
- Material
- Ceramic, tin-lined metal or opaque glass with a gasket seal
Porosity
Not porous. It contributes nothing of its own to the liquor, so it can be moved between teas freely and washed with detergent without consequence.
If you do not own one
A tin with a well-fitting double lid is as good as anything expensive. The original foil pouch, folded and clipped, beats a decorative jar that does not seal.
This one is not marked essential. The tea can be made without it.
Care and maintenance
Do not wash between teas — wash it and it holds moisture, which is worse than a trace of the last tea. Wipe dry and air it instead.
Other storages
Sources
This page is TeaHQ synthesis. No external source stands behind the description, the material or the account of how the object is cared for. Where the record names a tradition, that attribution is TeaHQ’s own reading of common practice rather than a citation.
TeaHQ names no maker, brand or shop and has nothing to sell. Nothing on this page should be read as advice to buy the object — the substitute note above exists because owning it is usually optional.