Do K Cups Expire? All You Need To Know About K Cup Freshness
Drinking coffee once you own a Keurig or another pod coffee maker is easy. All it takes is popping a pod into the brewer, pressing a button or two, and then you’re on your way to a fresh up in less than two minutes!
But you might not even think to check on one important detail: how fresh your coffee is.That’s right! Coffee freshness is still an important factor when drinking from K cups. Do K cups expire? Find out in my analysis today!
More...
What’s Inside A K Cup?
The first thing that you need to know about K cups to understand whether or not they expire is what’s inside!
As you probably already know, K cups are simply full of ground coffee, powdered beverages, or tea leaves. They are packed into the cups in a way that helps to keep them fresh, but can this freshness last forever?
No, it cannot. Do K cups expire? Yes. Learn more about when and how below.
Do K Cups Expire?
Yes, K cups expire. While they are good for a fairly long amount of time, any ground coffee, hot chocolate, or tea leaves will gradually lose their flavor. Depending on the exact ingredients, some may expire faster than others.
What Is The Shelf Life For A K Cup?
K cups are packaged with nitrogen to prevent oxidation and prevent the coffee inside from losing its flavor. As long as the air and moisture seal stays intact, the K cups will stay fresh for a long time.
The shelf life you should first consider is the printed date on the packaging. This is the “true” shelf life of the product.
When stored properly, however, you can expect the K cups to last even longer! That’s right. You don’t have to toss “old” cups just because the best use by date has shown up. The shelf life of various types of K cups can be considered as follows:
- K Cups Coffee last for 3-8 months past expiration date
- K Cups Tea last for 6-12 months past expiration date
- K Cups Hot Chocolate last for 6-12 months past expiration date
- K Cups Apple Cider last for 8-12 months past expiration date
As you can see, the shelf life of K cups can be much longer than the expiration date printed on the product. Learn more about how to locate this best use by date in the following sections.
How Can I Check The Expiration Date?
Every box of K cups should have an expiration date on them, so you can check the box to try to find out when they will expire.
If you’re like me, however, the chances are high that you will have already tossed out the box. That’s okay because expiration dates are printed directly onto each K cup as well!
Here’s how to find the best use by date on the K cups:
- This date is on the side of every K-cup.
- You may need to use a magnifying glass to see it, as it is very small.
- If you cannot find it there, check the label or the bottom of the K cup as well.
Is It Really Expired After That Date?
If you’re like me, you will know that “best use by” is not a hard deadline. Even milk, which has a recommended best use by date, does not always expire at that time. It’s simply a suggestion of when the product will no longer be as good as it was.
The coffee inside the K cup will not be considered up to industry standards after the best use by date. The real deciding factor for this is your taste buds!
If you have so-called expired K cups, here’s how you can decide if they are still good to use or not:
- Make sure the product only contains coffee grounds or relatively non-perishable ingredients. If it contains any milk powder or cream powder, these can expire, so you will want to toss it.
- Taste it! If it still tastes good to you, there’s nothing wrong with using it.
- Use them up before buying any more! Trust me, you don’t want to have too many past their best use by date because they will eventually taste off.
Keep Your K Cups!
So, do K cups expire? Not really! At least, not right away. You can keep most types of K cups for much longer than the printed best use by date, but make sure you pay attention to how long they have been in your cupboard.
After all, no one wants to be drinking something that is more than a year old!
More Coffee, Tea And Espresso
Do you keep your K cups past their expiration date? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
