I saw a question online the other day about how many times a tea bag can be used, and it got me thinking. I drink a lot of tea, so I decided to run a little experiment of my own to see how many good cups I could get from a single tea bag.

I started with my usual morning cup of black tea. I grabbed a new tea bag, added it to my favorite mug, and poured in some boiling water. After letting it steep for about three minutes, I took a sip. Perfect! That’s my first cup, and it was just as strong and flavorful as I like it.

Now, instead of tossing the tea bag, I set it aside on a small dish. I got busy with work, and about an hour later, I was ready for another cup. I placed the used tea bag back in my mug and poured more boiling water over it. I let it steep for a little longer this time, maybe four minutes. The second cup was a bit lighter in color, but it still had a decent flavor. Not as strong as the first, but definitely drinkable.

I decided to push it further. A couple of hours later, I made a third cup with the same tea bag. This time, I let it steep for a good five minutes. The tea was very light in color, almost like a pale yellowish water. The flavor was pretty weak, but still had a hint of that black tea taste. I wouldn’t say it was a great cup of tea, but it was still something warm to sip on.

Feeling adventurous, I went for a fourth cup in the afternoon. I figured, why not? I steeped the tea bag for six minutes this time, but honestly, it was barely worth the effort. The water was barely colored, and the taste was very faint. I could hardly tell it was tea at all. It was like drinking hot water with a ghost of tea flavor.

My conclusion?

• One tea bag can definitely give you two decent cups of tea.
• The first cup is strong and flavorful.
• The second cup is a bit weaker but still enjoyable.
• By the third cup, you’re really pushing it, and the fourth is just not worth it in my opinion.

Of course, this is just my personal experiment with my favorite black tea. Different types of tea might give you different results. Maybe green tea or herbal tea could be reused more times. And it also depends on how strong you like your tea. Some people might be happy with a weaker brew and get more uses out of a single bag. But for me, I think two is the magic number. After that, it’s time for a fresh tea bag!