In a nutshell, drinking overnight tea not only doesn't provide you with any vitamins but also will infect your body with bacteria. So please don't!
Do not drink yesterday's tea. Tea, standing for several hours, quickly loses vitamins and other nutrients. The Chinese consider old tea poison. But leftover tea is fine used as an external agent for therapeutic purposes.
Okay, short answer: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), iced tea should only be stored in the fridge for eight hours, max.
Green tea has the shortest shelf life of all teas. Fresh seasonal green tea is sweet - not bitter - and deeply aromatic. It can last for up to a year but, because green tea does “go bad,” it is best to drink green tea within six months.
Brewed tea can last as long as five days if you keep it in the fridge. It should be kept in an airtight container in order to prevent it from absorbing any of the smells or flavors of other foods and beverages in the fridge. It will also help to prevent bacteria from growing.
Steep the tea for too long, and you'll end up with an unpleasantly strong, bitter cup. Steep the tea for too short a time, and you'll have a weak, flavorless cup of tea.
A tea bag can be reused one or two times. After that, it's spent. Reusing green or white tea works better than darker blends. I usually reuse Orange Pekoe tea bags because I use two bags in one cup: I like strong milk tea in the mornings, with milk, and no sugar.
You can also leave your tea in the fridge overnight to enjoy it the next morning. Cold-brewed tea stays fresh for up to three days in the fridge. Additionally, cold-brewed tea can be enjoyed with fruits or mint to create your own cold brew green tea infusions.
For best flavor, bring spring or freshly drawn filtered water to 185℉. Without a thermometer, this can be achieved by letting boiling water cool for about 2 minutes. Allow the tea to steep for 3 minutes.
The bottom line. Green tea may provide an array of health benefits, including better sleep. However, drinking it at night, especially in the two hours preceding bedtime, may make it harder to fall asleep. It may also lead to more nighttime peeing, which can further reduce your sleep quality.
Just be sure to store it properly so that it doesn't go bad. Always keep in mind that brewed tea is best when enjoyed within five days of being brewed. After that, it will start to lose flavor and develop a sour taste.
Bring water to a rolling boil and immediately pour over your tea bag. Steep for a good 3 to 5 minutes. (Great taste can't be rushed—it really does take the full time to release the tea's entire flavor.) Remove the tea bag, relax and enjoy!
It is important NOT to use boiling water for Oolong, Green and White Teas. Water at this temperature (212 Degrees F) will "cook" the leaves and destroy the tea and its flavor, creating a bitter tasting tea.
Over Boiling the Water
Allowing the water to boil for a long time removes valuable oxygen from the water and can result in tea that tastes flat and listless.
You always have the choice to reheat the tea. However, doing so might steal many of its flavours, nutritional properties and aroma. If you have left your tea abandoned for more than four hours, it is downright not recommended to reheat the tea as it may harbour mould and bacterial growth.
In short, please don't drink it!
Tea that has been sitting around for way too long is also referred to as overnight tea as well. When tea sits around for too long, a substance called TP (tea polyphenol) that it contains will start to oxidise, this darkens the tea.
As a general rule of thumb, loose leaf tea stored in a craft bag will stay fresh for about four months, and loose leaf tea stored in a tin or other airtight container will stay fresh for about a year. After that, tea won't spoil, but it will start to lose its flavor.
The short answer is, don't store tea for more than 8 hours at room temperature. If you left your tea out at room temperature overnight or longer than 8 hours, it would be best to discard it.
- Don't reuse green tea bags: Not only the caffeine content in an already used tea bag is frightfully high, wet tea bags are also prone to microbial infestation. As a rule, never use it more than two times.
As long as you steep it long enough to release the antioxidants, you can drink it hot or cold and get the same potential health benefits. Research has shown small loose leaves (or your tea bag) that are steeped between 2-5 minutes optimally boost the polyphenols (antioxidants) in the green tea.
While old tea isn't usually dangerous to consume, it's definitely a less than ideal tea drinking experience. If your tea tastes like it's gone bad or if you spot visible mold or other signs of decomposition, steer clear.
Toxic contamination by heavy metals was found in most of the teas sampled. Some tea samples are considered unsafe. There are no existing guidelines for routine testing or reporting of toxicant levels in "naturally" occurring products.
A natural flush for your system, antioxidant-rich green tea will help your body increase the production of detoxification properties. Whilst also boosting your immune system while protecting your liver from the damaging effects of toxic substances such as alcohol.
Three minutes for a strong cup. One or two minutes for weak to medium. What happens when you drink tea that has been steeped for too long? Nothing much, in most cases it just does not taste very well.