Nothing goes better with your favorite meal than a tall glass of iced tea, but what’s floating in it? While you carefully take a sip and hope it’s just a random tea leaf, we’re here to tell you that it’s not. Mold could be growing in the pour spout of the tea maker, which could cause the tiny bits to move around. To keep things clean, this spout should be taken off and cleaned at least once a day or between brews. This doesn’t always happen, though.
And because the tea pour spout has so many tiny parts (three, to be exact), it’s very easy for bacteria to get stuck. If this bacteria isn’t cleaned well, it can turn into mold over time.Aspergillus is the name of this group of molds.Moldy or badly cleaned iced tea machines can be very dangerous to your health. Mold can cause problems with the lungs, allergies, and even more serious health problems.
When you order iced tea, you need to be careful. Check for unpleasant smells, tastes, or looks that could be signs of mold contamination.If you think it’s safer to get coffee from the tap instead of freshly made, you might want to think again. Even soda guns can get moldy if they aren’t cleaned right.
Iced tea isn’t always fresh
According to Consumer Reports, the prevalence of mold becomes a serious issue when one considers the fact that 75 to 80% of the tea drunk in the United States is iced tea.Even though most of the cleaning is usually done at the conclusion of the shift, the iced tea machines still need to be emptied, cleansed, and disinfected.Despite the fact that this is a norm in the industry, mistakes can still be made.
How can you be sure that the iced tea is still good if, for instance, one worker’s shift ends at 3 pm in the afternoon and the next restaurant worker arrives at 4 pm? It is interesting to note that some employees at restaurants have admitted to forgetting to prepare a fresh brew, which has led us to hypothesize further about the frequency with which businesses clean their machines.
In spite of these discoveries, it is not essential for you to give up drinking your preferred beverage. You may decide that it is more to your liking to appreciate it in the convenience of your own home, where you can keep an eye on the iced tea being brewed. Alternatively, bottled tea may also be a safer option; however, the antioxidant content of bottled tea is typically lower than that of freshly brewed tea.
