Good news first: tea almost never spoils. It fades — which means storage isn’t about safety dates, it’s about keeping the flavor you paid for. The whole science fits on a sticky note.

Know the five enemies. Air slowly stales the leaf. Light bleaches flavor fastest of all — those pretty glass jars on a sunny shelf are a slow execution. Heat speeds the fading, so the cupboard above the stove is the worst address in the kitchen. Moisture is the one true spoiler — the only enemy that can actually ruin tea rather than dim it. And strong smells: the same absorbency that lets jasmine tea drink in real blossoms will just as happily soak up your spice rack.

The solution is one shelf. An opaque, airtight tin — or the resealable pouch your tea arrived in, with the air pressed out — in a cool, dark cupboard away from the stove, the dishwasher, and the spices. That’s it. And buy in season-sized amounts: a small fresh pouch always beats a large stale one.

How long each shelf keeps:

• Green & white — at their brightest within a year. (Fine spring greens keep beautifully sealed in the fridge — just let the pouch warm up before opening, so condensation doesn’t sneak in.)
• Black & oolong — happily two years and more; roasted oolongs even mellow.
• Herbal & fruit — one to two years; the aroma is your gauge.
• The rebels — pu-erh and aged whites improve with the years, and pu-erh is the one tea that prefers to breathe rather than be sealed.

When in doubt, trust your nose. Dry, well-kept tea that’s past its best isn’t dangerous — just quieter. If the leaf smells of nothing, it will taste of nothing. (The one exception: anything musty or damp-smelling goes in the bin, no appeals.)