Do you pay attention to expiration dates on tea?

I have never had a tea go bad on me, per se. When one gets old and loses its punch, I can use it for iced tea or blend it.

Well this is very comforting to me since I recently came across a 5lb bag of Jasmine pouchong? (very little english on the packaging) for less than 9 bucks. I was becoming quite concerned that I would wind up wasting most of it if I didn’t drink it fast enough if I decided that I liked it. I’ll be breaking into it this week.

I barely follow the expiration date on perishable products, so I don’t really bother about it for tea. I use common sense and smell/taste judgment to decide when things are bad. Of course, I also eat locally so most of my food doesn’t have an expiry date. :)

As for tea, if it’s stale and yucky, out it goes. Otherwise, it’s a deal!

How long can I store tea in a tin kept out of the light? I have some peppermint bark tea that’s not my thing but my family loved it. Can I keep it until next Christmas if I store it this way?

i only have thrown away tea i really didn’t like (lapsang :())
never had tea gone bad; have a green tea from 2011 and it’s still yummie. i guess it may well have lost some of its flavour over time, but that doesn’t bother me.

It’s funny to see the general differences in tea communities. I figured because Steepster people seem to drink it till it’s tasteless, and other places, people have such bizarre concern for people with a dozen tins of tea: how are you going to drink that all before it goes bad? I always see.

Seriously. My mom made iced tea last year from Republic of Tea sachets that had been around since I was a freshman in high school. It took a lot to give it any flavor, but it didn’t taste horrible by any means. And if it’s bad, well, throw it in soil!