What happens if you drink expired coffee?

I love to drink coffee so much that I actually worry about having enough coffee on hand at all times. I typically keep 3-6 months’ worth at any given time. I could stockpile more ground coffee just in case, but I worry about having expired coffee grounds.

If I over bought coffee and it expired to the point I could not drink it, that would be such a waste of money. I needed to know more information about if coffee even expires, can you drink it after the date, and if it is not safe to brew what can I do with expired coffee. In a perfect world, coffee lasts forever but that may not be true. Let’s find out!

Does Coffee expire?

In general, coffee is considered shelf stable because it doesn’t require refrigeration. Coffee is best stored in a cool dark place like a pantry or cabinet.

The unopened container should be airtight like in a can or sealed bag. Once the can or bag is opened and the coffee is exposed to air, the flavor will start to degrade.

For the best flavor, you want to use coffee within 1-2 weeks of opening it. After 2 weeks the flavor will start to lessen and won’t be as strong.

Coffee by itself will not grow mold unless it has excessive moisture added to it or it is next to an organic object like a piece of fruit. Coffee loves to absorb moisture, so if you live in a very humid area, it can grow mold from high humidity.

Some people like to store coffee in the fridge or freezer to prolong its shelf life but this is actually not a good idea. The fridge and freezer are actually very high in humidity (about 65%) so opened packages or packages not sealed well will start to absorb moisture.

Coffee also acts as an odor neutralizer similar to baking soda, so it will start to pick up smells and flavors of what is around it. Nobody wants stinky coffee!

The expiration date of coffee is usually between 1-2 years from the time it was roasted. The dates are usually listed as “best by” because this is how long the flavor will be at it’s peak. After this date the flavor will lessen.

If you store coffee beans properly, they can probably last up to 9 months past their date and still retain flavor. After that point they just won’t be as strong.

Can you drink out of date coffee?

As long as there is no mold on the coffee and dry coffee grounds don’t appear overly wet, there is no real danger to drinking expired coffee. The flavor may not be the best, but it is unlikely to make you ill.

If the coffee does not have a typical strong aroma or scent, this is a good indicator that it has lost some of its flavor as well.

Coffee that is stored in its original sealed container will last longer than the smaller bags. The bags will start to degrade over time and the coffee will lose its freshness.

If you plan on buying a few months of coffee at a time you will be better off buying a bigger container. Once you open that bigger container, if you plan on using it for longer than 2 weeks you will need to use an air tight container.

Once you take the foil seal off the can, air can still seep into the can and the coffee will start to lose flavor over 1-2 weeks.

We like to go ahead and store out coffee in a glass container with a super tight lid. This will ensure that coffee keeps its flavor strong.

10 Uses for Expired Coffee that can Save you Money!

If you come across a brick, bag, or can of coffee grounds that is over a year old and it is questionable how it was stored, your first instinct may be to toss it. Instead try one of these uses for coffee that doesn’t involve drinking it! (These easy to do options can also be done with old coffee beans!)

1. Keep Cats out of your garden – for some reason, cats are not a fan of coffee. We have neighborhood cats that love to play in our garden, so we spring coffee grounds around the edges to keep them out. You can sprinkle them as dry ground or wet them before you put them out. You can also do this with used coffee grounds too!
2. Plants – If you have roses, blueberry bushes, or cranberries bushes in your yard, sprinkle old coffee grounds around them for a nitrogen boost. These plants love nitrogen, and this is a cheap alternative to buying a nitrogen rich fertilizer.
3. Compost Pile – old coffee grounds and even used coffee grounds can be added to any compost pile. Making your own compost is a great way to recycle food waste and save money by not having to buy expensive soil for your plants or garden.
4. Pest/ Bug repellent – old coffee grounds may not taste good, but they still work to keep unwanted pests like mesquites away. I like to take small glass containers like tealight holders and put coffee grounds in them. You can even put a taper candle in the containers if you like, just make sure they are out of kids reach! We spend a lot of time on our porch so these cute little containers help keep the flying bugs to a minimum so we can enjoy playing or eating outside. Not only can bug repellants get expensive, but they also have tons of chemicals you don’t want to use around kids, so this is an awesome and low-cost solution.
5. Odor Eliminator – We mentioned early that you don’t want to store coffee in the fridge because it will turn yucky by absorbing odors and flavors. Now if you don’t plan on using the coffee to drink, this is a perfectly good way to keep odors out of your fridge! Think of smelly things like fish or cut onions in your fridge that can cause a lingering odor, and now you can just put a small cup of grounds in the fridge door to get rid of it. (Once the coffee has absorbed the odor and you’re ready to change it out, you can dump the stinky coffee into the compost pile too!)
6. Food Based Dye – Let the old coffee steep in warm water for a little while and depending on how you deep you want the color, you can use the liquid as a natural dye. You can stain furniture, dye fabric, or even stain your porch. Depending on how you want to use the dye, you may need to add vinegar to help set the color. If you’re the crafty type, the possibilities are endless!
7. Grow mushrooms – mushrooms also love the high nitrogen content in coffee, so it is a the perfect “soil” to grow mushrooms in. You can buy a really inexpensive kit to grow your own mushrooms at home.
8. Flea Dip for your Dog – lots of people say they rub their pets down with coffee grounds after shampooing to repel fleas. After the coffee grounds have been thoroughly rubbed in, you simply rinse the grounds out of the dog’s coat. Some pet owners say it the oils from the coffee actually make the fur soft and shiny too! If your dog is allergic to some flea medications like ours is, this may be a good and cheap alternative.
9. Tenderize Meat – just because the old coffee grounds are too weak to drink, you can still capitalize on their oils and acidic nature to tenderize and marinade tough cuts of meat. Lots of people swear by using coffee marinades to make cheap cuts of steak more tender and taste better. (spoiler alert – the steaks don’t actually taste like coffee afterwards, it just gives a slight earthy flavor) You can steep the old grounds in warm water and then use the liquid in a bag to marinate and tenderize the meat. Used coffee grounds from your coffee maker can do be used for this too – we usually just make another 1/2 pot of coffee in the machine using the already used coffee grounds.
10. Perk up your eyes – whether you have dark circles from not enough sleep, crying, or have a hangover, you can stimulate the skin around your eyes with coffee. Just make a paste using a little coconut oil and wet coffee grounds. Then rub the mixture under your eyes but make sure not to get any in your eyes. Let the coffee paste sit on your skin for 10-15 minutes to allow the caffeine and antioxidants to be absorbed into the skin and lessen the puffy. It can also lessen dark circles too. Beauty treatments for your eyes can be very pricey and this at home version costs just pennies to make and you can use it every day!

Is Expired Coffee bad for you?

Expired coffee will not hurt you physically, but it may not taste as good. Now having too much expired coffee and throwing it out, can cost you financially.

We need to make sure we are using wise buying methods when we are purchasing items that we use regularly. There is a sweet spot of having enough of an item to last for a few months and hoarding so much that it expires before we can use it.

With coffee there is still lots of uses for expired coffee so we can recoup our costs a little bit, but if we throw it out just because the coffee is past its expiration date, we are really just tossing money in the trash can.

Whether you buy whole coffee beans or ground coffee, take a look at how many ounces are in the package. On average 1 oz equals an 8 oz cup of coffee. Keep in mind how often and how much coffee you drink and buy based on those numbers.

This will help you not only buy enough coffee to last a few months but will also make sure you don’t buy so much that you can’t use it all before it expires and starts to lose its flavor and taste.

If you want more money saving tips on how to brew coffee to save money, check out “Is it cheaper to make your own Coffee?“. Lots of easy and helpful tips to save money every day!

If you usually use powdered creamer in your coffee, you will definitely want to check out the information in “What happens if you drink expired Powdered Creamer? (Coffee Mate)“.