Have you ever turned your back on a cup of tea for too long? When your tea gets cold, you lose the opportunity to enjoy a steaming hot cup of deliciousness. So what should you do? Should you reheat it? Can you?
Yes, you can reheat tea, but we recommend against it. Once you remove your tea from the cozy warmth of its hot water bath, it will lose its essence and flavor.
Let’s find out more in this blog post!
Can You Reheat Tea?
Iced tea is probably a more practical choice if you want to enjoy some tea after you’ve already prepared and consumed it once.
What Happens on Reheating Tea?
The longer you let your tea sit, the more oxidation will occur and the less fresh it will taste.
The longer tea sits before you drink it, the more oxidized its polyphenols become. This makes it possible for certain bacteria to thrive in your cup of tea. This can lead to a cup of tea that is stale and sour-tasting because of its microbes.
Heat can increase the oxidation of tea and therefore produce non-toxic chemicals such as theaflavins, thearubigins, theabrownins, etc.
With every brewing and reheating process, the caffeine and theophylline behave like overworked spectators at a basketball game.
The hot water inside your tea leaves slowly dries out. Furthermore, the chemical changes that produce tea’s distinctive flavor and color begin to occur. As the moisture evaporates, so do some vitamin C and E oils.
When heating your favorite tea again, be sure to heat it to a high enough temperature. While the liquid is still warm with little or no bubbles, it doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
If the water temperature is below 175 °F or 80 °C, bacteria and mold will develop and can cause safety concerns.
When Can You Reheat Tea?
You can reheat tea that has been sitting for less than 4 hours. When tea sits for long hours, you will risk contamination.
When your tea is cold, place it in an airtight container or ziplock and put it in the fridge. This will extend the life of the tea.
Some teas may last longer than others. But generally, don’t add sweeteners like sugar to keep your refrigerated tea safe for reheating.
If the color remains the same, reheating is a safe way to enjoy your tea, especially if you dip the spoon into it and bring some up to check. If the consistency stays consistent, then your tea is safe to reheat.
Can You Reheat Tea after a Day or Two?
Don’t reheat tea that has sat out for eight hours or more.
If sugary liquids are left at room temperature for a long time, mold and bacteria will grow in them. Furthermore, additives such as honey, milk, or fresh citrus juice can speed up the growth process.
When Should You Never Reheat Tea?
The curing and processing stages subject tea components to high temperatures.
While additional heat can help bring out more flavor in your tea, excessive heat may cause some of the compounds in your tea to break down.
The essential oils that give tea its aroma and flavor may break down if they reach high temperatures.
Herbs such as mint, lemon balm, and hibiscus may also break down when exposed to too much heat.
If your tea looks cloudy, it may be bad. Before reheating tea, check for mold and make sure it isn’t sour. Mold is a sign of bacteria, so if your tea has formed a white-speckled film, it’s no longer fit to drink.
Many people like to save their tea for later. However, if you insist on reheating your tea, consider how long it has sat out at room temperature. If it has been out for more than eight hours, it will lose its flavor. Therefore, it’s best to discard it if you want to fill your mug again.
Secondly, if you add sugar and milk to your tea, don’t reheat it. Milk will change texture and taste when reheated, so if you use milk in your tea, ensure it has been out for only a few hours!
Thirdly, the best practice is to ensure your tea stays hot. However, if you’ve been sipping for a while or it’s been sitting for less than ten minutes, and it’s got some life left in it, feel free to drink it tepidly instead of reheating.
Reheating Different Types of Teas
Can You Reheat Herbal Tea?
Herbal or fruity tea is often best when it’s fresh from the garden. But if you ever forget to brew a pot of your favorite kind, don’t worry about throwing away the rest.
You can reheat your herbal tea—peppermint, chamomile, etc.—and enjoy it again.
Note that you can reheat most herbal teas above 175 °F or 80 °C. However, they should not be boiled and repeated. When you’re getting ready to make your cup of tea, take the time to do it right to enjoy all of the health benefits and great taste.
Can You Reheat Tea with Additives?
Additives such as sugar, honey, and milk are fine to add to your tea before or during brewing. However, the longer they sit in your tea, the more likely you will experience mold growth.
For this reason, we suggest that you reheat your tea within four hours only if using any of these ingredients.
If the sweeteners used in tea are artificial, they do not encourage microbes to thrive. So you don’t have to worry about harmful bacteria or other microbes getting into your tea if you reheat it.
Can You Reheat Black or Green Tea?
While there is debate about whether or not you should re-steep green tea, the consensus from professionals and amateurs is that you can reheat black, white, oolong tea, Pu Erh, and matcha varieties.
Just make sure your tea reaches the high temperatures needed to kill microbes, which are above 175 °F or 80 °C.
Can You Reheat Chai/Milk Tea?
It’s safe to reheat chai tea that is no older than eight hours. Chai tea will lose flavor and become more susceptible to bacterial growth if you reheat it after that length of time.
Thus, it’s best to make one cup at a time.
The Rainbow-Y Layer on the Tea Surface
Sweet tea with milk forms a thin layer on its surface on cooling down. This layer makes light bend, which makes beautiful rainbow patterns on the surface of tea that has been left out. This is a natural phenomenon!
The rainbow layer is not harmful to your health. So your drink is safe to consume, hot or cold, after 10-15 minutes of standing.
Can You Reheat Ginger Tea?
Ginger tea is generally safe to drink up to one day after brewing. However, if you want a strong brew, let the tea steep longer.
It takes a few hours for ginger’s aromatic oils to release, so it’s best to steep for about 3–4 hours or overnight.
Ginger tea has some antimicrobial properties in its brew. So it’s less susceptible than other teas to the growth of bacteria and fungus after a certain time.
It’s easy to reheat milkless ginger tea several times in one evening, especially if you made a large batch. It, like most hot drinks, does not spoil quickly and can be stored in thermoses.
Can You Reheat Sweetened Tea?
If you leave a pitcher of sweet tea to sit out on your counter for too long, you may notice that it tastes pretty stale.
You can add more sugar to the tea and hope that it will taste better. However, this won’t solve the problem.
The reason why is that sugar is a favorite food source for bacteria, especially in hot weather. So if you want to keep sweet tea around all day, add ice cubes frequently, and don’t reheat it.
How to Safely Reheat Tea
Can You Reheat Tea in the Microwave?
Yes, you can reheat tea in your microwave. However, you should use caution when trying this method to heat a beverage.
Teas come in all different varieties that a microwave might not be able to heat adequately.
If using a microwave, heat for about 30 seconds in the microwave, and then stir the tea bag. This way, you can avoid overheating or boiling your tea.
Can You Reheat Tea in a Teapot?
By using a teapot to reheat your tea, you are reducing the bad effects on the tea by a large amount. This will keep your tea fresh. Furthermore, the design enables even heat distribution.
For some teas, like white and green tea, you shouldn’t steep them in boiling water. A teapot gives you the flexibility of controlling the temperature and saving your tea from boiling temperatures. The result is a warmer cup of tea!
Can You Reheat Tea in an Electric Kettle?
You should not reheat your tea in an electric kettle because you will not be able to control the temperature of the water and may therefore burn your tea leaves.
You should brew tea in water with a specific temperature far below that of boiling water.
If you find yourself in a situation where the only option is to use your electric kettle, we suggest switching your electric kettle off at the wall as soon as the water reaches a boil.
Alternatives to Reheating Tea
Is It Okay to Drink Old Tea Without Reheating It?
You can drink tea that has gone cold.
Cold-brewed teas can be quite nice. The trick is to not leave the hot tea sitting out for very long before you try to drink it. You don’t want it to sit in room-temperature air for hours before you take a sip!
If you leave the tea bag or leaves inside the water for too long, your cup of tea can become very astringent and bitter-tasting. The already-brewed tea may also become muddy and dark, compromising its flavor.
Conclusion
For some people, drinking tea will be done as soon as it’s made. For others, it might be a cup that has been sitting out and slowly going cold for hours.
So it’s safe to reheat tea if it’s in an airtight container and there’s no milk or sugar added. Reheating brewed tea creates a bitter flavor, however. So it’s best to let the tea cool before pouring it into a thermos for later use.
