Can matcha go bad?
In this short article, we will provide an answer to the question “can matcha go bad?” and its repurposing methods.
Can matcha go bad?
Yes, matcha can go bad. Once matcha is opened, it has a four-week shelf life, after which it loses its color, flavor, and nutritional value due to degradation. It does not degrade in the traditional sense; rather, it gets bland and tasteless as time passes. Even though it is still safe to use, baking with it is favored owing to the lack of flavor it imparts.
The color of Matcha will fade and the flavor will become more bitter as the shelf life of the product approaches its expiration date. There is no need to keep a batch of matcha that is of culinary grade (lower quality) and has lost all of its effectiveness.
What is the maximum amount of time that MATCHA can remain fresh?
While teas with a low degree of oxidation have a shorter shelf life, matcha is a kind of tea that degrades and loses flavor with time, making it a poor choice for drinking after a meal. The rate of deterioration is mostly controlled by the circumstances under which the tea powder is stored; the longer the time tea powder is allowed to oxidize, the faster it degrades. In the case of matcha, for example, an opened tin that is kept unopened at room temperature degrades more rapidly than an opened tin that is refrigerated or frozen.
The flavor and health advantages of matcha may inevitably degrade with time, even with proper storage. One of the main reasons people drink matcha is because of the alleged health benefits it provides.
For a longer shelf life for your matcha, follow these seven recommendations:
- Make a significant investment in high-quality matcha. Excellent matcha is often imported from Japan, where it is shade-grown for at least three to four weeks before harvesting to provide the highest quality.
- Culinary-grade matcha will not last as long as culinary-grade matcha due to the lower quality of culinary-grade matcha. This matcha grade is ideally suited for usage in baked goods and sweet meals like matcha whipped cream or matcha ice cream, among other things.
- When you first open the container, attempt to eat your matcha within a few months of doing so. Make stirring a bowl of matcha a routine to prevent it from being forgotten in the back of a cupboard or drawer.
- When tea does not come in an airtight container, it should be stored in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight, heat, and moisture. Tins, in my view, outperform bags in terms of performance. In an opaque, vacuum-sealed, and airtight container, unopened matcha degrades at the slowest rate of all the storage options.
- If at all feasible, store your matcha in the refrigerator, but keep it away from food odors. Matcha is kept in a little mini-fridge that I’ve set aside just for green tea storage purposes. Condensation is prevented and the product stays fresh by refrigerating the tea in a Ziploc plastic bag while in the refrigerator.
- Avoid buying large quantities of matcha green tea since the expiration date may have passed. If you purchase a large amount of tea, split it into smaller containers for daily use to reduce your exposure to oxygen.
Methods for repurposing matcha that has expired
When matcha isn’t pure enough or has lost its freshness, it may still be used in a variety of ways, as shown below.
There are a variety of ways for reusing expired matcha, including the following:
Intended for use in the kitchen
Numerous matcha recipes, ranging from cookies to matcha cakes and ice creams, are available for download on the internet. It is still possible to consume matcha after it has passed its expiry date since it retains certain healthy components. Aside from that, while cooking with matcha, the outcomes are usually delicious dishes that are also aesthetically attractive.
The product should be applied straight to the skin
Make a face mask out of a teaspoon of matcha powder and a teaspoon of coconut oil now and then to keep your skin looking fresh. When you apply it to your skin and rinse it off with lukewarm water, your skin will feel smooth and moisturized.
Use it as a fertilizer
Even after it has expired, matcha maintains some of its beneficial components for the plants that consume it. Besides that, it can speed up the decomposition of other components in your compost pile.
Conclusion
In this short article, we provided an answer to the question “can matcha go bad?” and its repurposing methods.
