A great cup of tea from time to time is great, just as coffee is. The thing with tea is, you have so many variants or types available and if you’re a single person, you’ll always have too much tea in stock. Does tea go bad you’re thinking?
Yes, unfortunately, just like any other food or drink, tea will also go bad after some time.
In this blog post, we will cover the topic of tea bags, their shelf-life, how to store them, and spoilage.
Enjoy the read
How Long Can Tea Last
We will answer the question directly with a short table:
Tea | Pantry |
---|---|
Unopened tea bags | Best-by date + 6 to 12 months (1 year) |
Opened tea bags | Best-by date + 6 to 12 months (1 year) |
Unopened tea leaves | Best-by date + 6 to 12 months (1 year) |
Opened tea leaves | Best-by date + 6 to 12 months (1 year) |
When you buy tea, there should be a printed date on the bag or any metric with a date. This date is an indicator of quality and should be seen that way. When you’re past the date, it doesn’t mean it’s too bad for consumption.
Like all foods and drinks, also tea will downgrade over time and lose its freshness and quality.
The longer you’re past the date, the less likely you’ll have tea with great quality.
You have tea that is sold unprocessed and processed. By processing we mean it has some additives added to the leaves. Think about Lipton tea bags for example.
So the more processed, the longer it should retain its quality.
At GoodOrGoneBad, we’d say that your tea bags can last up to 1 year past their best-by date. If it gets past this best-by date, try not to wait longer than 6 months, and don’t let it get to 1 year. Generally, it will still be okay to consume the tea between 6 months and 1 year.
Remember the above indication is general advice and doesn’t mean that your tea will be still good or bad after 1 year.
Different Types Of Tea and Their Shelf-Life
Now that we know does tea go bad, let’s have a closer look at the 4 main types of tea and how long they should be good or until they’ll expire.
You have green teas, white teas, oolong, and black teas.
- Green tea: Green tea can last up to 1 year past its best-by date.
- White Tea: White tea can last up to 6 months past its best-by date.
- Oolong Tea: Oolong tea can last up to 1 year past its best-by date.
- Black Tea: Black tea can last up to 6 months past its best-by date.
So it is clear that when it comes to tea and other foods and drinks, it’s no exact science in the sense that they fall in the range between 6 to 12 months after the best-by date.
Try to limit your tea purchases and get an idea of when you can consume and for how much. Try to consume them as fast as you can so you don’t have to make this call.
How should you store them in the right way so they’ll keep their quality?
How Should You Store Tea
Always check first in the store, when you’re buying tea the printed date on it. Don’t buy tea that’s already some time past the best-by date.
Tea should be stored in a dark and dry place. Try to avoid direct contact with sunlight and temperature fluctuations and air.
The pantry is a great location or someplace in your kitchen. You can save them in an airtight and sealed container and put them in the cabinet. Sealing it in plastic bags is also an option but then you should squeeze the air out of the bags each time.
Do everything you can it doesn’t make contact with air streams, moisture sources, heat sources, or direct sunlight. These will enhance the aging process.
Try to store the tea bags in an airtight container that’s easy to seal. There are a lot of great ones made, just for tea.
Transferring the tea bags or loose leaves from the original package into the container is a healthy habit or routine. Try to consume them within the first months.
We’ll conclude this chapter with one last tip: try to keep your teabags away from other food or drink items that give off a lot of smell, because it’s known that they could affect the taste and quality of your tea. This is the same for coffee grounds and so on.
How Can You See If Tea Has Gone Bad
The thing is that tea doesn’t decrease in quality as fast if doesn’t come in contact with other liquids, direct sunlight, air, or heat sources.
The longer you wait past the best-by date, the less likely it will be a great quality cup you’ll have.
When you know that your tea has made contact with direct sunlight, air streams, heat sources, and liquids for a few hours, directly discard it.
The only way to test it is to brew your tea and give it a sip. Does your tea taste nothing, doesn’t it taste as it should? Get rid of it immediately. Who drinks tea with no taste? It’s better to drink water right?
On GoodOrGoneBad, we don’t advise you to be a hero. Drinking stale tea or tea that doesn’t taste as it should be, might not make you sick, but this doesn’t mean it’s good for your health. You can buy new tea for a fairly low price and don’t take any risks about your health and well-being. Your stomach will be grateful.
What Can You Do With Tea That Has Gone Bad
You can easily give the tea a second life and use it in your garden in your compost piles.
They still might add some great stuff to the composting soil.
The same goes for used coffee grounds.
Enjoy your tea!