How to Store Botanicals and Extracts (Jars, Desiccant, Humidity Packs, Light and Heat)

Most of the botanicals that come back to us as "this went stale" were stored fine for the first week and badly for the next three months. Dried flowers, ground root and extract powders each want slightly different handling, but the enemies are the same four: moisture, light, heat and air. Here is how we store everything at the bar, the numbers we watch, and the cheap supplies that do most of the work. For adults 21 and over.

What you need

• Glass storage jars with tight lids, small enough that a jar is mostly full. A 4 oz jar for extracts, 8 to 16 oz for flowers and root
• Food grade silica gel desiccant packs, 1 g size, for powders and extracts
• Two-way humidity control packs, 58 to 62 percent, for whole dried flowers
• Blank labels and a marker
• A cool cabinet away from the stove, the dishwasher and any window

Jars, desiccant packs and labels are all in our Accessories and DIY Supplies collection.

The four numbers we watch

Temperature under 70 F. A cabinet over the stove or next to the dishwasher runs 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the rest of the kitchen, and warmth speeds up every kind of fading. Relative humidity under 50 percent for powders and ground root. Whole flowers are happier a little higher, around 58 to 62 percent, which is why we use a humidity pack instead of a desiccant for them. Light at zero. Clear glass on a shelf is fine inside a closed cabinet and wrong on a windowsill. Air as little as possible, which means small jars, filled nearly to the top.

Whole dried flowers

This covers our Blue Lotus Flower, lavender and the other whole-blossom teas. Flowers that dry out too far crumble into dust and lose their aroma. Flowers that pick up moisture go musty.

1. Move the flowers from the pouch into a glass jar sized so it is at least three quarters full.
2. Drop in one 58 to 62 percent humidity pack per 28 g of flowers.
3. Seal, label with the botanical and the date, and store in the dark.
4. Swap the pack when it turns stiff, usually every 2 to 3 months.

Ground and medium grind root

Kava root like our Vanuatu Kava (Medium Grind) ships dry and wants to stay that way. No humidity pack here. Ground root has a lot of surface area, so it picks up kitchen smells and moisture fast.

1. Keep it in the original sealed pouch until you open it, then move it to a jar.
2. Add one 1 g desiccant pack per 100 g of root.
3. Press the air out of the pouch if you leave part of the order in it, and clip it shut.
4. Use within 6 months of opening for the best flavor. It is still usable after that, but the taste gets flatter.

Extract powders

Concentrated extracts such as Blue Lotus Extract Powder 100:1 are the most sensitive thing on the shelf. Many extract powders are hygroscopic. Leave the lid off for an afternoon in July and the powder turns into a tacky brick.

1. Keep extracts in the smallest jar that fits them. A 4 oz jar for 20 g of powder is too much air. A 1 oz jar is right.
2. Add one 1 g desiccant pack per 30 g of extract. Replace it every 3 months.
3. Open the jar, take what you need with a dry scoop, and close it in under a minute. Never scoop with a wet spoon.
4. If a powder has already clumped, break it up with a dry fork, add a fresh desiccant and it will usually loosen within a day or two.

Resins and tinctures

Resin softens above 75 F and hardens in the fridge, so keep it in a small jar in the cabinet and take it out 10 minutes before you portion it. Tinctures in amber glass go in the same cool cabinet, upright, with the dropper cap screwed on tight. Glycerin tinctures thicken in the cold, so do not refrigerate them unless the label says to.

Labeling

Every jar gets three things: the botanical, the date opened, and the strength if it is an extract. We use small blank kraft labels and a permanent marker. It takes 20 seconds and it ends the "which jar is this" problem forever. When you finish a jar, wash it, dry it fully, and let it sit open overnight before refilling. A jar that still smells like the last herb will pass that smell on.

Disclaimer. For adults 21 and over. Kava should not be combined with alcohol. Do not use kava if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you have concerns about your liver; talk to a qualified professional first. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Traditional use of a botanical does not establish that it will produce any particular result. Keep out of reach of children.