How Long Do Nespresso Capsules Last?
One of the most common questions about the durability, and safety, of the Nespresso capsules is: how long do capsules last? Is there any expiration date? Is it safe to drink them afterwards?
Short answer, yes, there’s an expiration date and it’s reported on the package of every Nespresso capsule. Yet you can brew them even a long time after that date.
Coffee is not subject to a dangerous deterioration like most other foods and the capsules especially are airtight, preventing microbes and fungi to grow. The Nespresso capsules can be safely drank even many months after you bought them, even years. There are no health risks involved in drinking a capsule that you may have forgot at the bottom of your drawer for years.
Are Nespresso capsules good after the expiration date?
Different question it’s if you should. Nespresso suggests that the capsules should be drunk at most before 6-9 months from the purchase, for an optimal tasting experience. Every sleeve has printed on the exterior a production date, which is the day when the capsules were closed with the coffee inside, and an expiration date, that acts as a limit for when it’s best to drink the coffee. After this second date, the flavours can start to be lost and the experience won’t be the same as with a fresh bought capsule.
Nespresso suggests to check the status of the capsules by gently pushing the aluminium cover: if there’s some resistance, the coffee is still very good. It should still taste great then. Otherwise, the loss of flavours has started. Nothing to fear for your health but it won’t probably be the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had.
In any case, do drink it, even after years but be aware it could not be as good as in the beginning.
We personally never found a large difference between new and old, or even very old, capsules. Occasionally a few months old capsule produces a coffee that has less crema on it and has a slightly “dull” flavour. But that’s about it, it’s never truly bad.
All our tests are done with capsules still within the expiration date obviously, for the correct tasting experience.
Where capsules should be stored?
Many will advise storing the capsules in the fridge or in the freezer. While this can be a good idea for normal ground coffee, it has no effect on the capsules. They are airtight and nothing from the outside is supposed to get inside anyway, so keeping them refrigerated has no effect on their conservation status.
Freezing them might help a bit, as it would eventually slow down the development of fungi or spores that may inadvertently entered the capsule before it was sealed. But it’s a very remote possibility. Freezing the capsules won’t hurt but be aware that you’ll need to leave them at room temperature long enough for the coffee inside to defrost before you can brew them.
Refrigerating the capsules instead provides no advantage at all as the temperatures aren’t low enough to stop fungi or bacteria to grow anyway. You will only delay their occurrence. An added issue with refrigeration is that the fridge is a very humid environment, which definitely doesn’t sit well with an aluminium pod. Avoid the fridge.
18 Comments
Shiro DX
I have almost 4 year old capsules that I’m going to try. Question is, can I tell the difference if it’s a good cup of coffee or not…
Nespresso Guide
Tricky to say. It depends on how refined is your palate, mostly. I personally tried a 2,5 years old pod and it was clearly more subdued, more “opaque” in flavours. All the tones were present but they didn’t feel as strong as they should. That’s what will probably happen with your 4 years old capsule too. It won’t be good but drinkable, yes.
Kimberly Davis
I have pods with the expiration date of 11/20. Can I still use them?
Nespresso Guide
Yes. The taste may be a bit off, they may feel less intense but there shouldn’t be any health risks in brewing them.
Chris Malkemus
How long for a capsule out of the freezer take to thaw?
Nespresso Guide
Not very long, usually a couple of hours at room temperature should be sufficient. Just to be sure, it is advisable to leave the capsules to thaw for a few more hours, like the whole night before brewing.
Nikqxen
Can the vanilla capsules that goes with the coffee be bad to take when expired?
Nespresso Guide
Not sure what you meant with “vanilla capsules” but if you mean the Nespresso vanilla flavoured capsules yes, you can drink them also after the expiration date. They will cause no issue, health-wise, but probably won’t be as flavorful as a fresher capsule.
Luana B
Will pod go bad in hot car if in there for more than 2 hours?
Nespresso Guide
Most probably not. The temperatures that an hot car can reach are far below the ones that the coffee beans go through when being roasted. Roasting them again would indeed effect the flavors of the coffee, not necessarily in a bad way depending for how long and how hot it is being roasted the second time. But it is next to impossible to roast the coffee again just by leaving it in a hot car for a few hours. Definitely health-wise they won’t pose any risk, only the flavor would be affected if the pods would be left at very, very high temperatures.
You shouldn’t worry. A hot car is not that hot as to roast coffee a second time. Just be advised to not leave coffee in any hot place for a prolonged period of time, especially when it is packaged in a metal like aluminium. The effects on the metal are unknown, it could potentially bend or melt due to the hotness of the car (even if we doubt it will be THAT hot).
Tammie Houston
Thanks for letting me know that you shouldn’t leave coffee pods in the fridge as that would be detrimental to their shelf life. I’m planning on buying a 60 pack single coffee capsules since the idea of just having coffee ready to brew for my needs would save me quite a lot of time in the morning. Though I’ve never had this sort of product before so I had no idea how to store them. I’ll be sure to find a nice dry place where I can store them so that fungi won’t grow as you said. Thanks again for the advice.
Nespresso Guide
Glad you found it helpful. We never experienced growing of mold or fungi on any capsules so far, storing them in a very dry room next to the kitchen. It is probable that those who have seen the growth of mold or fungi in their capsules live in humid environments.
Brent
I found an unopened nespresso with pods at my boyfriends, the pods expired in 2014. Would they be okay to drink?
Nespresso Guide
Hi! They are fine to drink, you won’t get sick by brewing them after all these years. But don’t expect the pods to taste as good as when they still had to expire. They may feel a bit “stale” or lacking in nuances. Nothing terrible, just not optimal.
Nelson
I inadvertently drank a Nespresso coffee that was 12 years old. Yes, 12 years old. I can attest the taste wasn’t what I expected.
Nespresso Guide
We would be surprised otherwise! 12 years old coffee should barely have anything in common with the same grounds when they were fresh.
Alicia Palomera
I have a huge variety box with an expiration date of 2018. I try brewing a cup of coffee using a Lungo capsule, but a few seconds after it stared brewing, water started leaking from the sides of the decanter ! I think the coffee inside the pods is compressed and won’t let the water pass through. How can I loosen the ground coffee inside the pods ??
Nespresso Guide
Hi Alicia!
First of all, have you checked the used capsule? Did it got punched properly? Is the aluminium foil still attached to all the sides of the pod? I am asking this because it may be possible that the foil got weaker over the years and with the water pressure of brewing it opens after a few seconds, letting the water go through the sides of the coffee grounds.
If the foil is sane, there’s little that can be done without opening the pod. The only possibility that we can think of is trying to freeze the pod for 24 hours and then letting it defrost at room temperature. A morning should be enough. This because by freezing it the humidity inside will become ice, slightly pushing aside the coffee grounds as the ice increases volume over the liquid form. Once the defrosting is complete, the coffee is reusable again but the grounds should have imperceptibly moved, hopefully enough to let the water pass through them uniformly.
If that doesn’t work, opening the pod, moving the grounds with a spoon or small knife just enough to loosen them, and then applying new aluminium foil before brewing would be your best chance. Let us know how it worked!