To maintain storing kratom potency, it needs to be protected from three enemies: heat, light, and moisture.
I’m going to teach you how to store kratom based on what I’ve read from various herbalist books and personal experience, but I’m not going to stop there. I have a few other bonus tips I’d like to share with you so you can keep your kratom as potent as possible for as long as possible.
The following rules apply to all forms of kratom, including leaves, powder, tinctures, and capsules, except kratom tea. Storing kratom tea will be discussed after the three guidelines. Let’s get started!
Want to learn more regarding the proper use of kratom? Check out these posts!
1. Store Kratom in a Dark Place
Although it looks nice to have your jars lined up on a windowsill, the truth is that UV rays from natural sunlight will damage kratom and lower its potency. To avoid sunlight, simply place your kratom in a dark place, such as a drawer or cupboard.
Some people buy opaque glass jars or keep their kratom in black bags, such as the bag in the image below, to block out all the light. I really like the look of glass jars, so I compensate for the transparent glass by keeping my kratom products in my pantry.
However, don’t worry too much about opaque vs. transparent packaging.
Read More: “Best Kratom Strains For Anxiety: From Personal Experience”
To put things into perspective, it takes 4-5 hours of direct sunlight exposure to make a kratom sun tea. A few minutes a day outside of the cabinet or drawer won’t make a difference.
2. Store Kratom in a Cool Place
Storing kratom in a hot place, such as near a stove or in your car, is going to have detrimental effects on its shelf life.
When making hot infusions, heat is used to extract a wide variety of alkaloids, including Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine, which are directly responsible for kratom’s many medicinal effects.
To avoid an unnecessary loss of alkaloids (and therefore potency), I suggest storing kratom in a location that doesn’t exceed more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don’t worry about storing kratom where temperatures can drop below freezing. That can actually be a benefit, but more on that later!
A little side note: how you take kratom will also determine the potency of the effects. To learn which forms of taking kratom produce the best results, click the button below.
Read More: “How to Take Kratom For Maximum Results”
3. Store Kratom in a Dry Place
Don’t be fooled, moisture can slip through any and all types of packaging, whether its a bag or a glass jar. Hence, you want to avoid storing kratom right next to a sink or, even worse, the restroom.
If excessive moisture gets into your container for extended periods, you may notice mold beginning to grow and believe me; you don’t want that. Mold doesn’t just ruin your kratom, it can also be harmful for your health.
Eating a bit of mold usually doesn’t end in a hospital visit, but according to Greatist.com in their post regarding the consumption of mold, you may sometimes experience:
- irritated nose
- vomit
- irritated nose
- diarrhea
- itchy eyes
- nausea
In other words, store your kratom in a dry place, such as in a pantry or cabinet.
Best Places to Store Kratom
- Cabinet
- Pantry
- Closet
- Cupboards
- Drawers
Worst Places to Store Kratom
- Restrooms
- Cupboards, drawers, cabinets, etc, adjoining a stove, sink, or heater
- Laundry rooms
- Vehicles
- Windowsills
- Chimneys
Products For Kratom Storage
Here are all the links to the storage products you see in the images throughout this post.
I use every single one of the following products:
- Glass Jars
- Labels
- Markers
- Kratom Powder
- Kratom Leaves
- Kratom Capsules
How to Store Kratom Tea
Because the constituents in kratom tea are extracted by water, the shelf life is extremely short. Literally one day, and only if you used a hot infusion.
Now, you may be wondering, but what about tinctures? Why do they last longer?
Alcohol is the solvent used to extract herb constituents for tinctures, and quite surprisingly, alcohol is a great preservative. Assuming alcohol was used as the solvent, your kratom tincture can last at least 5 years. Crazy right?
You may have read elsewhere that you can refrigerate kratom tea for as long as a week, but according to professional herbalists Thomas Easley and Steven Horne in their book, The Modern Dispensatory, cold infusions (cold brew kratom teas) should be made fresh daily, while hot infusions (hot kratom teas), should be refrigerated for no longer than one day.
What is Kratom’s Shelf Life When Properly Stored
Assuming you follow the 3 guidelines mentioned above, Andres Chevallier, author of Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, claims you can store dry herbs for up to 12 months before they deteriorate. This would include crushed leaves, powder, and capsules.
If alcohol is used as the solvent of choice, kratom tinctures can be preserved for at least five years. If glycerin was used instead of alcohol, you’re looking at roughly three years of shelf life.
Keep in mind, glycerin is not as strong of a solvent as alcohol, which will result in a less potent tincture.
Bonus Tips for Storing and Preserving Kratom
Alright, that covers the fundamentals, but I promised you some bonus tips I intend to deliver. Here are some good practices as well as helpful tips to help you preserve your kratom products to their full potential.
More space in a bag or jar inevitably exposes kratom to higher volumes of oxygen. More exposure to oxygen means higher levels of oxidation, which in turn reduces potency.
Always switch to a smaller container as soon as you can.
Label Your Packages
Unless you have a photographic memory, you will more than likely forget when you purchased a certain kratom product, especially if you own multiple of the same kind.
I like to immediately transfer my kratom powder or leaves into a glass jar, slap a label on it, and date it.
Read More: “Green Malay: Top Rated For Pain & Anxiety Relief”
I date my products according to the day I receive them, not the day I believe to be the expiration date, but I suppose either or is fine. Just make sure you stick to only one method.
Store Kratom As Leaves (If Possible)
If you have the chance to buy crushed kratom leaves, please do so. Kratom leaves expose less surface area to oxygen than powder. As previously mentioned, less exposure to oxygen results in less oxidation, which means more potency.
Therefore, when it comes to storing kratom, kratom leaves will retain their potency better than powder. However, there’s a catch!
If you want to reap the full potency, you have to grind the leaves into a powder with a coffee grinder just before you make the tea. Allow me to explain. Powder exposes more surface area to oxygen or water when making tea.
Water is the solvent that extracts the alkaloids. During the process of making tea, we want maximize exposure to water because that will result in a higher concentrated kratom tea!
Freeze Your Kratom Products
If you want to ensure your kratom remains as potent as possible, simply throw it in the freezer. Freezing kratom protects it from heat, light, and prevents mold.
The extreme cold will preserve the alkaloids and, therefore, their potency. Freezing kratom is the best way to preserve it. Author Andrew Chevallier states that herbs should not be frozen for more than 6 months.
You can freeze kratom in any form except kratom tea, of course.
Vacuum Seal Kratom Powder or Leaves
Vacuum-sealing kratom powder or leaves is a great way to minimize oxidation. Fun fact: this is how we (kratom vendors) receive kratom kilos from Southeast Asia. The bags also take up less space once they’re vacuum sealed.
In a nutshell, if you want to run the extra mile to preserve kratom, you can:
- Buy kratom leaves
- Vacuum seal the container
- Store the container in the freezer for 6 months.
FAQ’s
Unfortunately, no. You want to minimize the exposure to humidity or moisture in order for kratom to retain its maximum potency.
Kratom leaves are best for retaining potency because they minimize the surface area exposed to oxygen, therefore reducing oxidation.
I store kratom in my pantry, far away from heat, moisture, and light.
