Expired tea: drink it or throw it away?

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Expired tea: usually still drinkable even after the best-before date – tips on storage, taste, and health benefits.

When it gets colder outside, a hot cup of tea provides warmth and comfort. But, like spices, teas often end up in the back of the pantry, where they are forgotten for months. When a packet is finally dug out again, few people think about how long it has been there – or whether the tea is still edible.

It is essential to distinguish between the use-by date and the best-before date. The use-by date applies to perishable goods that may pose a health risk after expiration, such as meat, fish, or dairy products. Even if these foods smell and look normal, harmful bacteria may have already formed if the use-by date has passed.

The best-before date is different. This applies to non-perishable products such as pasta, chocolate, or tea. The date means that the product will retain its specific properties, such as taste, smell, color, and nutritional value, until that date. After the date has passed, it can still be consumed as long as it looks fine, does not smell strange, and tastes normal.

There are even foods that can usually be enjoyed for much longer than their best-before date. Products such as honey, salt, mustard, vinegar, white rice, and sugar are unlikely to go bad.

The same applies to tea: as long as it smells good, is free of moisture, mould, and pests, and tastes good, it can still be enjoyed for a long time. This applies to tea bags as well as loose tea.

However, the nutritional values may change after the best-before date has expired: An Indian study shows that the antioxidant capacity of tea—i.e., its ability to neutralize free radicals—decreases significantly over time. After around twelve months of storage at room temperature and protected from light, the total phenol and flavonoid concentration decreases measurably. Varieties such as green and white tea are most affected by this, as their sensitive catechins oxidize quickly. The researchers also concluded that this chemical degradation can make the taste flatter or duller.

This means that in most cases, drinking tea that has passed its best-before date will not harm you. However, the health benefits of old tea, such as protection against oxidative stress or anti-inflammatory properties, are reduced.

If you enjoy drinking tea, you should take the time to sort your tea bags neatly rather than stacking them carelessly on top of each other. Influencer and tidying expert Kristina organizes her teas in a tea drawer. Keeping things tidy means you always have an overview and don’t run the risk of losing sight of the tea in the depths of the cupboard.

Loose tea is best stored in tea caddies or other dark metal or ceramic containers. This keeps the tea fresh and prevents it from absorbing odors or moisture.