I like to drink room-temperature tea. I'll make a batch in the morning and let it sit out all day in a covered mason jar; sometimes, it'll sit overnight. No sugar or flavorings are added to the tea. Are there any potential health risks to doing this, such as bacteria growing?
Health risks from room temperature tea set out all day?
- Thread starter Shel_B
- Start date
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/06/did-you-know-iced-tea-safety/
The X-spirts say 8 hours is safe for tea brewed with boiling water.
The X-spirts say 8 hours is safe for tea brewed with boiling water.
Thanks so much. That was very helpful information.
Lots of factors determine how long tea would remain safe to drink. Temperature is of course the most important factor in controlling bacteria. Is there sugar in it? That's a feed stock for bacteria and mold. How clean is the environment? Lots of spores, high bacterial load? It's hard to gauge.
I drink hot tea from a thermos as long as it remains pretty warm or cold, so even after 24 hours.
I drink hot tea from a thermos as long as it remains pretty warm or cold, so even after 24 hours.
Warnings are out about making "Sun Tea", for obvious reasons. I've had it and not died, so maybe I was lucky, but that was then and this is now. Hardly a day goes by without some kind of warning or recall.
Today it was brocolli from WalMart.
Today it was brocolli from WalMart.
Not really. Tea has a relatively lower pH (depending on type). It's going to take hours for the tea to cool to room temp. If you start with regular tap water, boil it, and cover it, you'd be safe for quite awhile. It's not a great breeding ground for anything and it's starting with nothing.
Patman
Staff member
One of my ex girlfriends (who I am still very good friends with) has a habit of buying a large coffee every morning and leaving it in her car all day long and drinking it a little bit at a time. It will often be in there for 12+ hours before she finally finishes it. She doesn’t seem to suffer any problems with that (I know it’s not tea but it’s a similar situation I suppose)
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