Tea station setups can range from sweet and simple to elaborate. Let’s look at some of our members’ loose leaf storage ideas
If you wander around thrift stores or home accent stores, keep an eye out for interesting pieces of furniture that could function as tea storage. Kathy Flash Morales found the little drawers in this brown apothecary cabinet work wonderfully to store her tea. Kathy makes use of all of the space available by adding colorful tea tins from Amazon to the top of the cabinet.
Building a tea corner into an unused area of your home is a great use of space. Kathy had this space built during a renovation to store her tea ware and give her a place to make her favorite cuppas.
This idea for turning an old hutch into a luxurious tea bar has been making the rounds. This gorgeous upcycled furniture makes use of the hutch’s drawers while cutting out some of the shelving to make space for lighting and appliances. Thrifting for furniture that could be fixed up could be a fun weekend project.
You’d be surprised where you could find tea storage. With a keen eye, you might be able to find something being thrown away or sold for cheap at a flea market I found this hutch on the side of the road and cleaned it up for a tea corner in my small kitchen. Baskets, a grey basket tier found at HomeGoods, and mason jars keep teas organized and allow space for my tea ware collection.
Mason jars have seemingly infinite uses around the home. Holding tea and spices is a perfect use. Melissa Illingworth uses chalk labels and the easy-to-peel labels from the Plum Deluxe bags to organize her tea into easy to identify stacks of jars. This type of display can be tucked anywhere you have room.
Maybe you don’t have space to spare, but that just means you might need to think outside the box (or tea cabinet). Jessica Carolyne Lewis created this magnetic wall mount and used labelled metal tins to display her tea without taking up any floor or counter space.
Similarly, this spice rack combined with the labels of the Plum Deluxe bags put together by Krystalyn Violet Myrdek uses small spice jars to efficiently store her tea collection. Everything is easily organized and lifted away from precious counter space.
Another good use of wall space as a loose leaf tea storage idea is this bird cage photo display piece used by Kelly Linss. While it doesn’t hold her whole collection, she could use the space to artfully showcase her favorite teas or blends that she wants to try that week.
Mallory Thalman also has a creative use for common organizers. She uses an over-the-door shoe rack to organize her tea, tucked out of the way in her pantry.
Bookshelves are another piece of furniture that, with the addition of jars or baskets, can be used to organize loose leaf tea collections. This set of purple shelves was passed on to me by my favorite local apothecary when I lived in Baltimore.
Brenda Smith Chadeayne also makes great use of shelves with this cubby with cloth baskets separating out her tea.
There are so many creative loose leaf tea storage ideas here and in the Plum Deluxe Tea Lovers community, there is sure to be inspiration for your next tea organization project. Once you’ve figured out where and how you want to store your tea, grab some cute baskets and tea tins to keep things neat and tidy.
When storing tea, there are a few rules you want to follow to keep your tea as fresh as possible:
- Tea should be stored in a temperate location out of direct sunlight. Dark jars or storing bags in a closed box like a tea chest or photo box help to further reduce break down from light exposure.
- Too much contact with air can also affect the quality of your tea. If you are buying in bulk, consider storing a small amount separately for regular use and keeping the rest tucked away in a dark area where the bag won’t be opened until your daily use ration needs to be refilled.
- Wherever you store your tea, keep it out of the freezer.
