China has published a revised national standard for tea storage, GB/T 30375—2026 Tea Storage (《茶叶贮存》). It was issued on October 30, 2026 and is listed in Announcement No. 46 of 2026 from the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China, which approved 615 recommended national standards. The national tea standards committee (SAC/TC339) announced it on November 5. The new version takes effect on May 1, 2027 and fully replaces GB/T 30375—2013, which has been in force since June 22, 2014.
What we know about the new standard
| Item | GB/T 30375—2026 |
|---|---|
| Issued | October 30, 2026 |
| In force from | May 1, 2027 |
| Replaces | GB/T 30375—2013 in full |
| Type | Recommended (voluntary) national standard |
| Committee | National Tea Standardization Technical Committee, SAC/TC339 (全国茶叶标准化技术委员会) |
| Drafting | 24 organizations, led by Anhui Agricultural University (安徽农业大学) |
The 2013 version sets out requirements, management, quality-keeping measures and test methods for storing all kinds of tea. In its notice, the committee says the revision further improves requirements along the whole storage chain, including the warehouse, intake into storage and stacking (库房、入库、堆码). The 2013 version was reviewed on May 17, 2021, and that review concluded it should be revised. The revision project started on April 30, 2025.
The drafting group mixes researchers, testing bodies and tea companies from several tea regions. One of them is a company from Jingmai (景迈) in Pu'er (普洱): 普洱景迈九泽投资开发管理有限公司. Others include the Hangzhou Tea Research Institute of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, and tea companies from Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei and Fujian.
Two other national tea standards were published in the same announcement, also from May 1, 2027: GB/T 48385—2026 on building and managing ecological tea gardens, and GB/T 48386—2026 on matcha processing.
Part of a busy year for storage rules
- January 24, 2026: a separate industry standard just for pu'er, the Specification for Pu'er Tea Storage (《普洱茶仓储规范》), passed its technical review in Hangzhou.
- Late August 2026: China's market regulator said that pre-packaged pu'er made to the national pu'er standard GB/T 22111 may give its shelf life as "long-term storage" (长期保存), but only under the storage conditions stated on the label.
- March 16, 2027: the new labeling standard for pre-packaged food, GB 7718—2025, takes effect.
Together, these rules point the same way. How long a pu'er keeps, and how well it ages, depends on how it is stored.
What this means for pu'er drinkers
- Nothing changes for your tea today. The new version is not in force until May 2027, and it is voluntary. It mainly guides producers, warehouses and sellers.
- Storage claims will have clearer rules behind them. When a seller says a tea was "dry stored" or kept in a professional warehouse, national and industry standards now give more detail on what good practice looks like.
- The home basics stay the same. Keep cakes clean, dry and away from light and strong smells such as spices, perfume or cooking. Keep them off the floor and away from damp walls. A cheap hygrometer helps you see how your room changes through the year.
- A useful local benchmark. Pu'er City's 2020 local storage standard, DB5308/T 53—2020, advises keeping warehouses below 25 °C and below 70% relative humidity, taking steps to dehumidify above that level, raising stacks at least 10 cm off the floor on pallets, and checking temperature and humidity every month. It is written for warehouses, but the same ideas work at home.
Keep it in perspective
- We have not seen the full text of the 2026 version yet. The committee's notice gives only a short summary of the changes, so we cannot say which numbers, if any, have changed.
- A storage standard sets conditions for keeping tea safe and stable. It does not promise that a tea will taste better with age, and aged aroma (陈香) still depends on the leaf, the processing and the years.
- This is a Chinese national standard. It does not change import rules in the US, Canada or the EU.
If you keep a few cakes at home to age, our pu'er tasting vocabulary guide can help you note how each one changes from year to year.
Source: SAC/TC339, "《抹茶生产加工技术规程》等三项国家标准正式发布", November 5, 2026; National Public Service Platform for Standards Information, GB/T 30375-2026 record and GB/T 30375-2013 record; Foodmate standards library, GB/T 30375-2026 entry (Announcement No. 46 of 2026); SAC/TC339, review of the Pu'er Tea Storage Specification, January 27, 2026; China Tea Marketing Association on "long-term storage" labeling, via ipucha.com, August 31, 2026; Pu'er City local standard DB5308/T 53—2020 Technical Specification for Pu'er Tea Storage. Summary and plain-language interpretation by Chen Sheng Tea. Featured image: cartons of pu'er on pallets and steel racks in the warehouse of Chen Sheng Hao (陈升号), the Menghai producer behind our teas (an illustration; the company is not named in the standard). Photo: Chen Sheng Hao (陈升号).
