3 Ways to Tell if Your Teabags Are Bad

Do teabags go bad after they expire?

Teabags have best by or sell by dates, not expiration dates. The USDA places “best if used by” or “sell by” dates on beverages such as tea to indicate when they will start to lose flavor and freshness. Whereas expiration dates tell you when a product will be unsafe to consume.

Teabags can still be safe to drink after the best by date. Some teas may stay flavorful for many months after the “best if used by date” passes. So don’t be put off if you pull old teabags out of the cabinet and discover they’re 2, 5, or even 10 years old. They may still make delicious cups of brew.

Some teabags can go bad well before the best by date. That date means nothing if the tea has been improperly stored and allowed to absorb too much moisture. Always check teabags thoroughly before you brew with them to ensure they haven’t spoiled.

Signs Your Teabags Have Gone Bad

Mold in the teabags or leaves. Mold growth is almost always a bad sign, whether it’s in tea or any other food or beverage. If you see any green, white, or black spots on the teabag or on the leaves, discard it immediately! Consuming moldy tea will expose you to mycotoxins and make you sick. Even fresh storebought teabags can grow mold. The presence or lack of mold often depends on factors outside of your control, like where the tea leaves were grown and how the manufacturer processed and stored them.

No smell or a wet smell. Most teas lose their scent the longer they’re stored. If your teabags don’t have any smell whatsoever, that means the tea you brew with them won’t taste like anything, either. A damp odor means your teabags are moist and likely have mold growing in them. Tea leaves contain essential oils that impart both scent and flavor. Those oils evaporate naturally over time, and they disappear even quicker if they aren’t sealed in a dry, airtight container.

No taste or a stale, unpleasant flavor. If the appearance and smell of your old teabags don’t tell you anything, try making a cup. Take a sip, and if it has no taste at all or the aftertaste is stale, it’s not fit to drink anymore.

Tips for Storing Teabags to Keep Them Fresh

Store teabags in an airtight container. This will minimize their exposure to oxygen, sunlight, and moisture, all of which can encourage your tea to spoil faster. Choose a tin, glass, ceramic, or metal container with a strong lid for your teabag container. Never use plastic, since that material absorbs smells and could alter the flavor of your tea. When using a glass teabag container, make sure the glass is dark to prevent sunlight from shining through it and ruining the tea.

Keep teabags separate from other items with strong odors. Tea leaves absorb flavors from whatever they’re stored with that has a potent scent. Don’t, for example, store your black tea next to an herbal tea or a coffee tin.

Store teabags in a cool, dry pantry or cabinet. This practice will enhance their freshness, since the cabinet will act as an extra layer of protection against light, heat, and moisture. Don’t keep them near a hot area like the stove. Heat encourages oxidation in tea leaves, which causes them to change flavor. Don’t place your tea bags in the fridge or freezer. In a cold, humid environment, the tea leaves may form condensation and grow mold. The only exception is matcha, which stays fresher when stored in cold temperatures.

How Long Different Teas Stay Fresh

Green tea and white tea have shorter shelf lives than other teas. This is because they are the least oxidized, meaning they are exposed to little or no oxygen during processing. The longer they sit out, the more they lose their bright, mellow flavors.

Matcha, which is green tea as a powder, loses flavor after 1 year. Its powder form causes it to absorb other odors and flavors faster, so tea drinkers should consume it quickly after opening it.

Black tea stays fresh for approximately 2 years. Black tea leaves are completely oxidized after they’re picked, giving them a bolder, stronger flavor than green or white tea. This process also ensures black tea’s flavor won’t break down as quickly by sitting in your pantry.

Some oolong teas are good to drink for 4-5 years. They’re wrapped in their own leaves during processing, trapping a significant amount of the plant’s natural oils. This helps oolongs retain their flavor longer.

Herbal teas remain fresh up to 2 years after purchase. These aren’t made of tea leaves, but rather different types of herbs which are heated up to extract their flavors. Those herbs include peppermint, spearmint, chamomile, ginger, lavender, and hibiscus.

Pu’erh tea is fermented and can last for decades. During processing, the leaves are left to dry with microbial bacteria still in them. The bacteria remains in the leaves after they dry, and if kept long enough, they will ferment the tea and transform its flavor.

What to Do with Expired Teabags

If your expired teabags smell normal and aren’t moldy, brew them. As long as the resulting tea doesn’t taste bad, it’s safe to drink a whole cup of it.

If they’re moldy or have an odd smell or no smell, throw them away. It’s better to be safe and discard tea that might make you sick than drink it anyway and be sorry about it later.

Repurpose used expired tea bags around the house. You’d be surprised at how many uses you can get out of them! Remove the leaves from your expired teabag and scatter them in or around stinky areas like garbage cans, fridges, and shoes. The leaves will absorb and help reduce the odor. Use a wet teabag to clean glass and mirrors. The tea will help you remove the grime, fingerprints, and other types of muck. Pour tea brewed from expired teabags into your hydrangeas and other plants that prefer acidic soil. Then place the teabags into your compost to make it more fertile and recycle the bags. Press wet, expired teabags to bug bites, pimples, and other red, puffy areas on your skin, and let the tea’s natural antioxidants bring the inflammation down. Once the teabags are dry, remove them from your skin.

Do Teabags Go Bad Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it safe to drink expired teabags? Yes, it’s safe to drink expired teabags as long as they still have a pleasant smell, are free of mold, and taste like normal tea when brewed.

Can I drink 10-year-old teabags? Yes, providing there are no signs of spoilage. Just be aware that after a decade on the shelf, most teas will have lost some or all of their flavor.

Do Lipton teabags go bad? Lipton recommends brewing and drinking most of its tea varieties up to 18 months after production. The date they stamp on their products is when they suggest throwing the tea away.