Can tea bags expire or go stale?

I hope not. I work in a little old drug store. The pharmacist/owner doesn’t exactly believe in merchandise turnover, so stuff just sits on the shelf for years and years. He’s always saying, “If someone really wants it, they’ll buy it.” The tea we have is probably 10 years old.

Yes it can get stale, especially if the wrapping around the box is open. Storing it in a dark, dry, airtight container will help keep it fresh.

Yes, it gets almost flavorless after a while. It’ll still have some taste, but it loses its aromatic properties.

I woud drink it if it is a year old, but @zenvelo is right that it might be less flavorful.

Sure in freshness and intensity of flavor, but that said I would use a year-old tea bag.

There are always tiny remnants of water when you buy tea, and in an open box dry leaves suck in humidity from the environment. Over time microorganisms can grow and this is the reason for expiration dates for tea. But usually this isn’t a problem because boiling water kills (most) microorganisms. The 80 C degrees rule for green tea can sometimes be a problem.

Even on the best day, tea bags are essentially encapsulated dust. If you compare them with freshly brewed tea from leaves, there is a dramatic difference.

That said, however, if you are bothering with the bags, I’m not sure that old age matters.

I only purchase tea in vacuum-packed foil but I am sometimes given tea in other containers. The vacuum-packed foil pouch could be large but instead I suggest getting the tiny pouches. They cost more initially but the freshness makes up for it. I suppose it goes bad no matter what but vacuum packed foil lasts surprisingly long. I don’t actually purchase tea bags. http://www.lulusoso.com/products/Laminated-Material-Vacuum-Packing.html

PS: If you have old tea use it for cleaning.