Teabags are tiny, sealed bags that are permeable, and they contain tea leaves which, when immersed in water, helps you make tea easier and faster. Most teabags, when packaged, always come with a best before date. The best before date on the tea bags shows how long the tea will maintain its typical taste. As soon as the best before date elapses, the tea will still be safe for you to consume, but you may observe that the flavor is not as strong as it was when you first bought it. This happens because, after a while, the natural oils and flavors evaporate.
Teabags expire, but you can use them for about one to two years after their expiry date as long as you store them very well. As tea bags age, the bags start to lose their traditional flavor and begin to dry out. Teabags barely go bad, except you expose them to either bugs or water. That’s why you should ensure you store them properly in a sealed container and keep it in a cool, dry, and dark place. Also, ensure that you protect the airtight container that contains the tea bags from direct sunlight. Some tea drinkers believe that storing tea leaves in the freezer preserves its freshness for an extended period. You don’t necessarily need to dispose of your tea bags after their best before date; you can use them to do so many things in your home, and using them for those things will help you reduce environmental waste.
How long can you keep teabags?
You can use your tea bags for up to two years, even after their best before date, as long as you take your time to store them carefully. You should know that tea bags can lose their flavor and even dry out over time. If you don’t expose your tea bags to bugs and moisture, they won’t expire or go wrong. That’s why you need to store them in a sealed container like a ziplock bag and keep them in a cool, dark place.
Can expired tea make you sick?
Expired tea cannot make you sick. They are still safe for your consumption. Just that, when the tea bag stays for a long time, it starts to dry, and the flavor will no longer be strong.
You can carry out the following recommendations as regards brewing your tea.
- Ensure you brew your tea for at least three minutes. If you do this, you will kill any likely bacteria in it.
- As soon as you brew your tea, don’t store it beyond eight hours.
- If you do not consume your tea immediately, place the brewed tea in the refrigerator.
- Don’t make tea using hot tap water or by sun brewing because it won’t be hot enough to kill any potential bacteria.
- Please don’t keep the container of tea bags near a window or close to a stove because light and heat are not good. Don’t leave the container too open on your kitchen counter.
- If you need an excellent place to store your tea bags, your kitchen cabinet or pantry is a good option.
- Please don’t keep your tea bags close to the spices in your home so they don’t absorb into your tea.
- A lot of manufacturers don’t recommend keeping tea bags in the freezer or refrigerator. They say it extends its shelf life, but the condensation, especially from the fridge, can affect the flavor of the tea.
How do you know if tea bags have gone bad?
If you are a tea drinker, you should know that teabags don’t go rancid quickly, it only does when moisture touches it, or bugs infest it. You will notice molds around the tea bags if water touches them; that’s a way you know that your teabags have gone bad. And that’s how you know you should discard the teabag.
If you brewed your tea with old teabags and noticed that it has a stale taste or the flavor is not lovely, you should dispose of it. You don’t need to drink tea that is unsafe for drinking.
Don’t drink your brewed tea if it sits down on the counter for more than one day. Just throw it away because the taste will not be suitable for you to consume.
If you don’t want your tea bags to go wrong before reaching their expiry date, you should allow them to sit in a dark and dry place from any source of light, air, or heat. If you have a cupboard in your kitchen, it will be a perfect place to store your teabags.
Also, immediately you open the package of your tea bags, ensure you seal it tightly because if you expose it to air, the air will end up speeding up the aging process, and you won’t want that to happen. The storage process of your tea is similar to that of coffee.
If your tea bags have paper packaging, sealing them tightly may be difficult, so you should transfer them into a container that can be sealed tightly.
What can you do with old tea bags?
If you love drinking tea, you will probably have to deal with handling plenty of your bags. Do you know that there are many things your tea bags can do for you other than help you enjoy drinking your tea?
Below are numerous things you can do with your tea bags, but before you use them for these things, you need to make sure they are compostable or not. It they are not compostable, you will need to remove the leaves from the bags before trying these ideas out. Check out how you can put old tea bags to good use.
1. Compost your tea bags
If the tea bags you use are compostable, pop them directly into the compost pile. But if the tea bags are no compostable, remove the leaves from the bags and spread those on your compost instead. One thing you should know is that tea adds the nitrogen-rich component to the compost, and it will end up balancing the carbon-rich materials.
2. Bury your used teabags or leaves at the bottom of your plants.
Used teabags are very good for the growth of your plants. Bury your used teabags or leaves at the bottom of your plants so they can help nourish its root system, enhance moisture retention, and it can also lessen the growth of weeds.
3. Soak your feet with tea
If you have smelly feet after pulling your shoes, you can infuse hot water with old tea bags and soak your feet in them. This will help get rid of foot odor, soften your skin and reduce pains and aches.
4. Fix puffy eyes
If you have puffy eyes, you can use teabags to handle them. All you need to do is rinse the used tea bags and refrigerate them before popping them on your eyes to eliminate the puffiness. Chamomile or green tea is very effective for reducing inflammation.
5. Get rid of bad smells
You can dry out your teabags or tea leaves and pop them in an open container before placing the container where the odor is worst. You can use it for stinky freezers or stinky shoes. For the shoes, you can leave the teabags in the shoes overnight. You can also use it to remove bad smells from your cat’s litterbox.
6. Tenderize meat
You can steep old black teabags until you create a strong tea before you pour over meat just before you cook to tenderize. The tannins in the tea will soften the meat.
How long does a tea bag last in water
A tea bag lasts in water for six minutes. Ensure you don’t leave your teabag in the water longer than six minutes because if you do, it will start to release tannins, and tannins release a bitter taste into tea, and you obviously will not like it.
Keep your tea bags in hot water for a range of three to five minutes. If you like having a strong cup of tea, soak at least two ea bags simultaneously or soak them one after the other.
If you steep your teabag for at least three minutes in hot water, it will allow it to release its total potentials. Always learn to shake your teabag gently before putting it in hot water. If you shake it gently, it will loosen the compacted tea, allowing the water to flow easily through the tea leaves. When your teabag finally enters the water, you don’t need to move it around.
Make sure you avoid oversoaking your tea bag in water for more than six minutes.
Conclusion
Teabags barely expire, but if you use them after two years without properly preserving them, you won’t like the taste. Keep your tea bags in a cool, dry, and dark place. Protect your teabags from direct sunlight too. Ensure you seal it tightly in a container so air will not affect it.
Avoid over-soaking your tea bags in water; let it not exceed six minutes immediately you put it in hot water.
You will not the flavor and taste of your teabag if you follow all the tips outlined in this article.