Food category
Coffee & Tea
Roasted coffee beans and dry tea blends.
Informational only, not legal advice.
Status by state
- Arizona /AZ Allowed
- California /CA Allowed
- Florida /FL Unclear
- Georgia /GA Allowed
- Illinois /IL Allowed
- Indiana /IN Allowed with limits
- Maryland /MD Allowed with limits
- Massachusetts /MA Allowed
- Michigan /MI Allowed with limits
- Missouri /MO Prohibited
- New Jersey /NJ Allowed with limits
- New York /NY Prohibited
- North Carolina /NC Unclear
- Ohio /OH Allowed
- Pennsylvania /PA Allowed
- Tennessee /TN Allowed
- Texas /TX Allowed
- Virginia /VA Allowed
- Washington /WA Allowed
- Wisconsin /WI Prohibited
Status comes from each state's allowed and prohibited lists, or from the state's own guidance where the lists don't settle it. "Allowed with limits" means the state allows some products in this category but not others. "Unclear" means the cited sources don't say either way.
Of the 20 states covered, 11 allow coffee & tea, 4 allow it with limits, 3 prohibit it, and in 2 the official sources don't settle it.
What each state's lists say
Arizona: Yes
Allowed list:
- Roasted coffee beans (whole or ground) and cold brew; loose-leaf tea blends and brewed tea
California: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dried, dehydrated, and freeze-dried foods (e.g., baking mixes, pasta, cereals, granola, trail mixes, popcorn, roasted or freeze-dried coffee, tea, herbs and herb blends)
Florida: Unclear
Neither Florida list names coffee & tea. Source: FDACS — Cottage Foods (Approved Cottage Food Products) · Verified Sep 15, 2026
Georgia: Yes
Allowed list:
- Roasted coffee beans
Illinois: Yes
Illinois allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no coffee & tea item is on it. Source: 410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, Sec. 4), subsec. (a), (b)(1.5)–(3), (12), (14) · Verified Sep 25, 2026
Indiana: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Dried herbs, spices, and teas (air or oven dried without additional additives)
- Roasted coffee beans (whole or ground), packaged
Prohibited list:
- Cold brew coffee, fresh-pressed juice, and products containing 0.5% or more alcohol by volume
Maryland: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Whole roasted coffee beans
- Seasoning blends, spice blends, and tea blends repackaged from commercial ingredients
Prohibited list:
- Ground or flavored coffee; brewed coffee and all other beverages (e.g., apple cider)
Massachusetts: Yes
Massachusetts allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no coffee & tea item is on it. Source: 105 CMR 590.000 (Massachusetts Retail Food Code), as published by MDPH, § 590.001(C) ("Cottage Food Products") · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Michigan: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Dry tea mixes, powdered drink mixes, and dried herbal teas sold as conventional food with no health claims
- Ground coffee or roasted coffee beans
Prohibited list:
- Dietary supplements, tinctures, and herbal teas with dosing instructions or health claims
Missouri: No
DHSS says baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herbs and herb mixes are "the only items that can be prepared out of the individuals' home," and a food not on that list "cannot be sold or claimed under the Missouri Cottage Law exemption." Coffee and tea are not on the list, and the Missouri Food Code's separate individual-stand exemption doesn't name them either.
Source: Missouri DHSS — Missouri Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance (Aug. 2023) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Source: Missouri Food Code (19 CSR 20-1.025), as published by DHSS, Ch. 1, "Food establishment" (3)(h) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
New Jersey: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Roasted coffee and dried tea (tea purchased from a licensed facility or wholesale distributor)
Prohibited list:
- Liquid beverages, and fresh, home-grown, or foraged herbs, flowers, or teas
New York: No
AGM lists beverages and roasting or grinding coffee beans as prohibited. Tea is not named on either AGM list.
Source: NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets — Home Processing (Prohibited Foods) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
North Carolina: Unclear
NCDA&CS lists "some liquids (i.e. ice tea, coffee, lemonade, etc.)" as possible low-risk foods, but doesn't name roasted coffee beans or dry tea blends. Bottled water and juice products are not permitted.
Source: NCDA&CS Food & Drug Protection — Home Processor · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Ohio: Yes
Allowed list:
- Roasted coffee, whole beans or ground
- Dry tea blends
Pennsylvania: Yes
PDA lists coffee/tea among allowed dry goods. Only freshly brewed coffee and tea are excluded, as TCS foods.
Source: PDA Application Packet — Limited Food Establishments (Rev 10-2024), pp. 12, 15 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Tennessee: Yes
Tennessee allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no coffee & tea item is on it. Source: 2025 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 431 (SB 484 / HB 130), amending T.C.A. § 53-1-118, § 4 (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3)) · Verified Oct 5, 2026
Texas: Yes
Texas allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no coffee & tea item is on it. Source: Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production · Verified Sep 15, 2026
Virginia: Yes
Allowed list:
- Roasted coffee beans and grounds
- Dried tea
Washington: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dry herbs, seasonings, and mixtures from approved sources, recombined and packaged (e.g., dry teas, bread mixes, soup mixes, dip mixes, spice blends)
- Small-batch roasted coffee beans, using a roaster that generally fits on a kitchen countertop
Wisconsin: No
Prohibited list:
- Unbaked, not potentially hazardous homemade foods such as fudges, candies, energy bars, roasted coffee beans, and dried soup mixes (DATCP may enforce licensing)