Proper Bags for Shipping Tea

I didn’t mean you wouldn’t share… :)
They’re really nice because one side is clear, so you can see inside. The other side is silver, so you can write on it or put a sticker on it. They’re very handy and when you spread open the base, they hold quite a bit.

They do look nice! Can’t wait until they come in. Until then ziplocks it is!

I really advise against plastic and clear in general. Reasons for this are in the existing threads.

Well, it’s those or the small ziplocks. A lot of the samples I get from people are either in the bags I just purchased or ziplocks. When I get them I transfer them to a better container.

Some people (like me) don’t like having to take the time and money to do that. If I need to supply my own storage for a tea, I factor that into cost when I purchase a tea. I also don’t like that my teas aren’t fully protected from light before reaching me so while I can make efforts to protect my tea once I get it, it may already be compromised.

I use bags from the candy-making section of the craft store. They are a little denser plastic than zip locs, and keep the smells from intermingling. Sometimes you can get colored/opaque ones and they close with a twist tie. I do label them. The tea immediately goes into a dark envelope, so light is not an issue. Then if the person on the other end of the shipment is worried about light, just keep it in a dark cupboard.

I don’t mean going out to buy new containers each time…I just put them in a clean tea container, To each their own. I’m always on the look out for something better as I only got one set of the bags.

PS: I should add that the prices on ebay are actually better than the prices for these from the wholesale distributor because the only way I could get a discount from the distributor is to buy huge quantities. So… next time, it’s ebay for me!

It would depend on the person on the other end of the swap. I have only swapped a few times, but if I was unable to use the original packaging, I actually used standard Ziploc food bags as I had nothing else and didn’t want to make a large investment for a small scale friendly swap. I would be up front with the person about the packaging and see if it were a problem for them. I have received tea in a number of formats, from small zippered baggies or twist-tied bags to fully opaque “proper” packaging and personally didn’t mind either way. Usually the amount of tea is smaller (a few cups to a few ounces) and I am likely to go through it quickly, thus not worrying about long term storage.

I can only speak for myself, but personally I don’t let it bother me how the other person prefers to send so long as it’s packed down securely so that I won’t receive an envelope full of loose leaves. Erm, as in loose in the envelope. You know what I mean.

If I receive something and I think it could be packed better, I don’t mind re-packing it myself or just wrapping some tinfoil around whatever bag the sender put it in.

It’s not something that I bother to make a fuss about. Not swapping. Had it been a purchase at a shop, I would be more concerned if I received something only in a ziplock bag.

Use whatever you think is fine, I can’t see there should be a problem. If you can do it in a light-tight, air-tight way that’s awesome. If not, then just do your best.