diff --git a/tests/unit/inference/test_inference.py b/tests/unit/inference/test_inference.py
index 36003319856c..b6273368c565 100644
--- a/tests/unit/inference/test_inference.py
+++ b/tests/unit/inference/test_inference.py
@@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ def _hf_model_list() -> List[ModelInfo]:
 
     cache_dir = os.getenv("HF_HOME", "~/.cache/huggingface")
     cache_file_path = os.path.join(cache_dir, "DS_model_cache.pkl")
-    cache_expiration_seconds = 60 * 60 * 24  # 1 day
+    num_days = os.getenv("HF_CACHE_EXPIRY_DAYS", 1)
+    cache_expiration_seconds = num_days * 60 * 60 * 24
 
     # Load or initialize the cache
     model_data = {"cache_time": 0, "model_list": []}
@@ -97,7 +98,8 @@ def _hf_model_list() -> List[ModelInfo]:
     current_time = time.time()
 
     # Update the cache if it has expired
-    if (model_data["cache_time"] + cache_expiration_seconds) < current_time:
+    if ((model_data["cache_time"] + cache_expiration_seconds) < current_time) or os.getenv("FORCE_UPDATE_HF_CACHE",
+                                                                                           default=False):
         api = HfApi()
         model_data["model_list"] = [
             ModelInfo(modelId=m.modelId, pipeline_tag=m.pipeline_tag, tags=m.tags) for m in api.list_models()