Unlike coffee, tea is not ultrasensitive. Do not store it where it can pick up orders from other things around it, such as spices. Blue Ridge is a specialty tea packer with a large and diverse inventory. Retailers like glass for display purposes. Shoppers like to see the tea but glass doesn't make sense unless there's very fast turnaround, about one week.
Ceramic containers are dark and dry.
Barrows has a few accounts in Canada and hopes to launch an exporting division in the near future. The company offers custom canisters to retailers carrying their line which currently consist of green and black teas, but Barrows plans to soon add Moning, a north China black tea. African teas will stay fresh for about six months with good storage. Amber-colored glass is okay, but clear glass lets in light. Plastic leeches out the tea, depending on the type used.