Tea has played a large role in our lives and those of our ancestors for generations, and not just for drinking. There are in fact plenty of other uses for tea other than drinking and today we thought we'd share a few of those tea hints and tips with you:
Tea keeps giving - after you have enjoyed your brew, consider using your leaves for:
- keeping your refrigerator smelling fresh - Place a dish of dry used tea leaves in there to absorb some of the smells
- Soothe puffy eyes - use damp cool tea bags (or our tea filter bags) placed on your eyes to remove puffiness
- Soaking in a tea bath - fill one of our tea filter bags with tea leaves and put in your bathtub for a relaxing soak
(Tea tips extracted from a new fun tea book by Australian author Camellia Cha, called Curiosi-Tea)
Summer in NZ can mean insect bites - ease the discomfort by placing cold moist green tea in a cloth over the wound.
Insect Bites – Apply brewed green tea leaves – brew your tea, strain the leaves and then squeeze these tightly to remove as much water as possible. Press the leaves onto the affected area of the skin.
Eyes feeling dry and dusty - Place your used tea bags (fill your own of course) in the fridge and when you need to refresh your eyes rest these on closed lids. Applying these cooled teabags to sunburn may also give you relief.
Freshen your fridge or chilly bins - Fill a cloth bag with dry tea leaves and place inside to absorb any smells.
Freeze freshly brewed green tea as ice cubes and use them as a face toner - just be careful not to apply ice cubes to your skin right out of the freezer, thaw a little to avoid freezer burn (ouch).
If the weather forecast indicates a hot afternoon then brew a batch of iced tea in the morning at the same time that you are making your breakfast tea.
Turn surplus brewed tea into ice-cubes to flavour your next batch of iced tea.
Fresh Brew - because it is so simple to turn our herbal and fruit blends into a delicious iced beverage we recommend brewing fresh each day. Let your brew steep overnight to extract the maximum flavour and then pour over ice the next day. If any sweetening is required try slices of ripe seasonal fruit. This is a great way to create an after school beverage and also control the amount of sugar. Looking for inspiration, then consider these blends: Heavenly Lemon, Apple Pie, Rosie Plum or Blood Orange.
If you have any brewed tea liquor left over then rather than disposing of it just pop it aside to use later in the day as a smoothie base, iced tea or freeze as ice-cubes for popping in your water bottle or jug. It can also be used:
- To soak your oats overnight for your bircher muesli
- As your porridge base
- As a base for your chia seed pudding
- A smoothie base - add another dose of antioxidants to your day by using left over brewed green tea. Add a bunch of fresh spinach, fresh ginger, fresh mint, apple, banana, chia seed and blitz in your smoothie maker. Finish with a sprinkle of nuts or seeds on top for a really balanced meal on the go.
- A savoury sauce with cauliflower or any vegetables or the coconut bacon recipe earlier.
- A warming rice pudding base (think coconut cream black tea)
We'd love to add to our tea tips and hints if you would like to share some of yours with us. Feel free to get in touch with us at anytime: we'd love to hear from you.
Posted: Thursday 5 March 2020
