Does tea really expire?

Question

I was cleaning out my kitchen and found a ton of tea in the back of the cupboards, about 4 different kinds/boxes. One of the boxes said it expired 07/06, but none of the other boxes said anything about an expiration date. Does it really expire?? How?? It's just tea?!

Answer 1

Tea Never expires as long as its sealed tight with not air, humidity or light!
I have seen 100 year old teas being sold in china, and they are really expensive.
I work in a tea company and our experts have informed me that since tea does not contain any nutritional value "calories", if properly stored away from air and light could last for many long years.
Manufacturers put 2 and 3 years expiry only as a guide since most consumers will not accept a food product with no expiry date!

A great tea web site for experts and know how is http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/

Answer 2

Does Tea Expire

Answer 3

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Many of us sometimes overload our pantry’s (or tea storage areas) with tea or simply forget about a tea that we have somewhere. Sometimes one of these “forgotten teas” can lay unbrewed for months and maybe a year or two. So, if you do rediscover one of you “forgotten teas”, you may be asking the question “can my old tea expire?”. Considering that almost all foods eventually expire, it is a possibility that you are thinking that your tea might be expired /spoiled etc. and unsafe to drink (and you might end up throwing away some good tea). So, the answer to this question is, not really. Tea does not spoil or expire. It may however loose its original taste and begin to taste stale. Because every single tea has a different shelf life, it is impossible to really know whether the tea is still good. If you find an old tea, and do not know whether you should drink it, I reccomend just brewing an “experimental cup” and just seeing how it tastes. You will definately be able to tell if it is stale. And some people don’t even mind drinking a cup of tea that is a tad bit stale. The important think to know is that the tea is still not really expired…(unless of course it was stored in an unsafe way, like in a humid environment, then perhaps mold or something could start growing, and you definately don’t want to drink moldy tea.) To, avoid ever having to drink stale tea there are certain things you can do. Tea won’t stay good for ever, but it is pretty easy to extend it’s shelf life if you are not going to drink it in the near future. One thing I have heard to extend tea shelf life is storing your tea in the freezer. And another thing you can also do is store your tea in an airtight container. We all don’t want any good tea to go to waste, so I think those are some goods ways to help prevent. (Stale tea is not really a problem for me because I usually drink all my tea right after I buy it!)

Answer 4

I need to be honest with you guys, I was really nervous when I brewed organic green tea that expired in November 2013. A whole year and 1 month after the date, the tea surprisingly was not muddy or weathery and did not go off, but emitted a pleasant aroma. The leaves were well twisted, dry and seeped for 4 minutes. The flavor did not quite hit the rich and sappy flavor I would have liked, but wow machochito! It was surprisingly enjoyable and I am at most contentment to use the 14 other bags in one sitting.

Answer 5

Hi!
Oh, Yes!
Tea will expire. It is nothing but organic material and because of it's unique nature it has oils and enzymes and all that other stuff that attends to living stuff. The oils and enzymes only have just so long to be of good quality where tea is concerned. The length of time is pretty good: you can mostly count on at least 12 months with most carefully packaged teas.

I remember learning so much about this when I lived in Denver back in the early 70's. That is where I first encountered Celestial Seasonings and I thought they were a hoot! :)

They had some very good advice printed on their packaging back then and I remember it to this day. Much of it was of a teaching nature about the different herbs and plants that came in the package.

The fresher the tea the more it is enjoyable. This is the rule of thumb that I've applied through the years and it sure has served me well.

And I hope this helps a bit.
Great question

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Does tea really expire?
I was cleaning out my kitchen and found a ton of tea in the back of the cupboards, about 4 different kinds/boxes. One of the boxes said it expired 07/06, but none of the other boxes said anything about an expiration date. Does it really expire?? How?? It's just tea?!

Answer 7

Tea does have a shelf life which depends on how it is stored. Light and humidity will eventually ruin it. Think of it as similar to dried herbs or spices and how they don't even smell as aromatic after they've been opened for a while. The good news is that 'expired tea' will never hurt you. It's purely a loss of flavor. By the way, you should never freeze tea, as suggested by someone here. The humidity in the freezer will ruin it. It's not the same as coffee.

Answer 8

I would use it. Tea is dry, so it can't expire fast. Only if it's very old (expired 2 years ago or so) it could change taste and lose some good substances (antioxidants...). But if you keep it in dry and cool place, it's good.

Answer 9

I too had a once place a few bags of tea on the top shelf and forgotten about them at on time. there they sat for nearly a year. well one day it was time to do my yearly house cleaning. up popped the bags of tea. I didn't want to throw them out . I was to much of a pack rat. so I began boiling the water right away to see if I could have a nice glass of tea. this is my lesson I learned : while if the tea is hot which it was when I sipped it that day, then it's ok. but if you drink it cold you might lose the taste. I found that out when I tried to cool my tea down.

Answer 10

It does expire...you see tea already goes through a process as one knows it tea, comes from a tea leaf. Tea therefore can lose its punch if you know what i mean like soda it can go flat.