How Long Does Loose Leaf Tea Last Before It Goes Bad?

If you’re thing similar america present astatine Steamy Kitchen, you astir apt emotion beverage too. In fact, you mightiness person a full stash of bagged teas successful a cupboard oregon possibly jars of escaped leafage teas proudly displayed connected your counter. And though you often bask them, you can’t assistance but wonderment astir eventual question: How agelong bash these beauteous small leaves really last? 

Know that you’re not alone. No substance if you’re a beverage person who’s amassed a postulation that would marque the Queen of England jealous, oregon a casual sipper with a mates of tins, it’s important that you cognize the support beingness of your tea. So, drawback your favourite cupful of beverage (ours is simply a peachy blend, but you bash you), and let’s dive into the leafy mysteries of beverage storage.

How Long Do Tea Leaves Last?

The Short Answer

The lifespan of beverage leaves depends connected the benignant of beverage and however you store them. As a wide regularisation of thumb, astir escaped beverage leaves tin past from 6 months to 3 years if stored properly. That’s a large range, we know, but antithetic teas person antithetic support lives. Let’s interruption down the lifespan of each tea, shall we?

The Long Answer

Here’s the info connected however agelong each benignant of beverage lasts:

• White Tea and Green Tea: These teas are alternatively delicate divas, due to the fact that they person a shorter support beingness than astir teas. White beverage and greenish beverage is champion enjoyed the archetypal twelvemonth that you person them, though immoderate assertion aged achromatic beverage to past up to 24 months, portion properly-stored greenish beverage tin past up to 18 months.
• Oolong Teas: Oolong teas past astir 6 months to 2 years, depending connected the type. Less oxidized oolong teas similar Ali Shan should beryllium enjoyed sooner, portion heavier oxidized teas similar Bai Hao tin past a spot longer.
• Black Tea: Black beverage leaves, with their afloat oxidation, tin past for 2 to 3 years.
• Pu-erh Teas: The good vino of the beverage world, Pu-erh lone gets amended with age! They tin past for decades, and successful uncommon cases, adjacent centuries! Some pu-erh drinkers bargain young, earthy pu-erh and permission it successful their pantry for galore years. 
• Herbal Teas: While herbal teas are technically not considered “tea” since they don’t travel from the Camellia sinensis plant, they’ll mostly past astir 1 to 2 years. This support beingness tin alteration depending connected the circumstantial herbs and flowers they contain.

Factors That Affect the Life of Tea Leaves

Proper Storage

To marque definite your beverage leaves past arsenic agelong arsenic possible, beryllium definite to store them properly. Keep them successful an airtight container, specified arsenic a beverage tin oregon a mason jar, and enactment them successful a cool, acheronian place. Avoid keeping them astir precocious temperatures and nonstop sunlight, arsenic good arsenic immoderate beardown odors that could impact their flavor.

Air Exposure and Oxidation

Fresh tea’s top enemy? Air. The much aerial your beverage is exposed to, the faster it volition suffer its indispensable oils and its flavor. This is wherefore airtight containers are the mode to go. Delay the oxidation process to support your beverage lasting longer. 

Type of Tea

As we talked astir earlier, the benignant of beverage you person plays a large relation successful however agelong your beverage leaves volition enactment fresh.

Temperature and Humidity

Tea leaves should beryllium stored astatine country somesthesia and kept successful a adust place. High temps and humidity tin pb to mold and spoilage.

Quality of Tea

Of course, the archetypal prime of your beverage leaves volition impact however agelong they last. High-quality beverage leaves person much earthy oils and robust flavors, which means they’ll person a longer support beingness than lower-quality teas.

How to Tell if Tea Leaves Have Gone Bad

Find a forgotten beverage container astatine the backmost of your pantry? Wondering if it’s inactive good? Don’t worry, it happens to the champion of us. Though drinking expired beverage isn’t needfully harmful, here’s however to find if your beverage leaves person gone bad:

Check the Smell

Give it the ol’ sniff test. Fresh tea, particularly loose-leaf, should person a beardown scent. If it smells stale, musty, oregon has nary scent astatine all, the indispensable oils person near the gathering and the beverage has mislaid its potency. This goes for each types of tea. 

Take a Look astatine the Color and Texture

Time to usage your peepers. Fresh beverage leaves usually person a vibrant color. If they’re discolored, faded, oregon look to person achromatic spots (a definite motion of mold), we urge you flip them.

Taste Test

Good beverage should person its archetypal flavor. If your beverage tastes flat, bitter, oregon weird successful immoderate way, it’s past its prime. Over time, aged beverage similar earthy pu’erh tin make much analyzable flavors, but aged beverage that wasn’t meant to property is conscionable expired tea.

Check for Pests

If your retention conditions were compromised, past you mightiness find immoderate unwanted guests successful your beverage leaves. Look for immoderate insects oregon droppings successful your tea, and if you spot any, it’s decidedly clip to flip it.

Look astatine the Expiration Date

While astir teas don’t person an expiration date, checking for immoderate day connected the packaging volition springiness you an thought of however agelong you’ve had it.

Signs of Moisture

Moisture is different arch-nemesis to tea, truthful if you announcement immoderate signs of moisture successful your beverage leaves, spot clumping oregon odor a bedewed smell, flip immediately.

More Tips for Tea Drinkers

• Smaller Quantities: If you’re disquieted astir your beverage lasting, oregon if you lone portion beverage sporadically, beryllium definite to bargain your beverage successful smaller quantities truthful you’ll beryllium much apt to usage it up earlier it goes bad.
• Surface Area: Loose-leaf beverage has a greater aboveground country that’s exposed to aerial than beverage successful beverage bags, and that tin impact support life. Be definite to support your escaped leaves successful an airtight container.
• Health Benefits: Fresh beverage means much wellness benefits. The older your tea, the little beneficial properties, truthful portion up! 

It’s Tea Time!

All this speech of beverage has made america thirsty. We’re gonna spell bask a cuppa close now!

There are 2 types of radical successful the world: those who get tea, and those who don’t. For those of america who do, we recognize that it’s much than conscionable a beverage. It’s a ritual. A infinitesimal of peace. An invitation of calm. It’s an accidental for mindfulness, possibly gratitude, oregon possibly conscionable quiet. Whatever it is for you, I deliberation we tin each hold that beverage is an acquisition and a accidental to savor the moment. 

What astir you? What bash you emotion astir tea? Do you person a favourite tea? Do you bask escaped leafage oregon bags? Is herbal your go-to, oregon are you a connoisseur of finer achromatic oregon pu-erh teas?

Whatever you enjoy, archer america successful the comments! Be definite to see immoderate tips for beverage additions that you find yummy and what foods you bask with beverage (if any). We ever emotion to perceive astir it. 

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The station How Long Does Loose Leaf Tea Last Before It Goes Bad? appeared archetypal connected Steamy Kitchen Recipes Giveaways.