Even the most rational and attentive hostess at times can find in one of her lockers some spoiled product. Or you can accidentally buy something overdue in the store. It remains to decide what to do about it. For example, is it possible to drink expired tea? Or is it better to throw it away?
Can expired tea be drunk? Taste qualities
So, more details. Can expired tea be drunk? No! This is not the healthy and tasty drink that you would like to try! Unfortunately, few people think about the proper storage of this product. Meanwhile, the taste and healing properties of tea depend on its proper storage.
If you store it incorrectly, it will lose its magnificent aroma. And even the most expensive product can turn into an absolutely tasteless drink. Gustatory qualities are also affected by: smell, temperature, humidity and light.
How to store?
Is it possible to drink expired tea - a secondary issue. And more on that later. Much more important is to preserve it. It can deteriorate even if the expiration date has not yet expired. What needs to be done? First, keep the tea in a dark room in a container that does not allow light to pass through.
Secondly, do not forget about the hygroscopicity of tea. Wet air can cause a change in its chemical composition. Essential oils decompose, acidity rises, and tea loses its flavor. His qualities, of course, are declining. In addition, when moistened, all kinds of bacteria begin to multiply very quickly. Tea can get an unpleasant aftertaste and even mold.
It is necessary to store the product at a sufficiently low temperature - about 5-10 degrees. It is best to put it in the refrigerator on the lower shelf. Only in advance you need to check the tightness of the package. Otherwise, tea may smell like other products nearby. The packaging must not be left open even for half an hour.
You can’t store tea near strongly-smelling products (for example, fish). In the same way as near cosmetics and perfumes. For the same reason, it is advisable to purchase a product not in large supermarkets, but in specialized stores.
Storage time
The next question. Is it possible to drink expired tea if it has been stored for more than six months? The answer is yes! On average, tea can be stored from a year to two. The packaging must always indicate the date of packaging and expiration date.
By the way, shelf life also depends on the variety. Black tea is stored the longest. But oolong is only a year. Moreover, at very low temperatures. Green tea is generally not stored for more than six months.
Of course, if you drink expired tea, you will not be poisoned. But it cannot be called a normal drink either. He will only remind you of the taste of brewed hay. Moreover, even aflatoxins (cancer-causing substances) sometimes form in stale tea.
How to use an expired product?
However, there is one option. Thinking about whether it is possible to drink expired leaf tea or not, do not forget about something else. It is important. Do not throw it away. It helps with sunburn. If panthenol is not nearby, just take a tea bath. To do this, a glass of tea is brewed in a liter of boiling water and infused for about forty minutes. Tea lotions can also be applied to burnt skin.
Housewives fill raw materials even in the ground in flower pots. This will save her from drying out. When watering, various useful substances also get into the ground from tea. Of course, we are talking only about dry raw materials. In no case should you pour tea leaves or the portion remaining after tea in a cup into flower pots!
If you pour out expired tea near the place of your pet, you will protect it from fleas. Baths with the addition of tea can save your feet from the appearance of an unpleasant odor. Tea lotions soothe the skin after shaving.
In bags
This is the most interesting. Can I drink expired tea bags? Does a person think about what he uses? The fact is that unscrupulous producers also add poplar, oak or grass leaves to tea. In addition, flavorings are added. Thus, cheap tea trash is masked. Dried fruits, dyes and preservatives are also added.
Effects
When considering whether it is possible to drink expired packaged tea, do not forget that it can increase the level of fluoride compounds in the body to dangerous concentrations. This is manifested by osteoporosis, muscle weakness, the formation of bone spurs, joint pain, fusion of the vertebrae. In addition, an excess of fluoride can provoke the development of kidney disease, reduce tooth strength. By the way, the first sign of fluoride poisoning is the appearance of dark spots on the teeth. In cheap tea bags, the daily dose of fluoride exceeds the permissible one by 75%. There is a lot of fluoride in old leaves. You can’t drink more than five cups of tea per day. Especially for older people and pregnant women.
Tea trash
What else is worth saying? Considering the question of whether it is possible to drink tea that is overdue for a year or two, it is important to note the fact that these people are often chosen by those people who are trying to save some money. "Premium" or "Premium" often turn out to be the most ordinary Chinese garbage collected from heaps lying in the open, not protected from the sun or rain. It costs a kilogram of such garbage, of course, cheaper. If the consumer has nothing to compare with, he is buying this particular spoiled product.
Summary
In principle, each person gives himself the answer to the question "is it possible to drink expired green tea, gray or black." But those who care about their health will definitely not do this. Still, you should not drink a drink prepared actually from garbage. And in Russia they are selling not just tea trash. We pay money for expired garbage - with fungi and a lethal dose of chemicals added during processing.
Since this tea is expired, there is not even any sense in talking about its color, aroma and taste. At best, this is the so-called hay flavor. Or the aroma of the place of its storage.
Most often, this tea contains aflatoxin. This is a vital product of dangerous fungi. It causes irreversible damage to the liver. In order to give this “garbage" a marketable appearance, the manufacturer, as a rule, adds dye. Taste and aroma are also regulated by the chemical industry. Aromatization destroys the remains of active antioxidants and L-tannin (an amino acid that soothes the human brain). In general, everything is what tea is used for.
So, if you monitor your health, if you are a thinking person, watch what you use in your diet. Drink fresh quality loose tea. After all, health is more expensive! Think of yourself. A good invigorating drink from a ceramic cup (instead of slop in a plastic cup) is exactly what you need.
In a word, high-quality fresh tea in the morning, at lunch or after dinner is wonderful, tasty and healthy!