photo by Yoshiko314

I am a tea fiend, right now I have approximately a dozen different types of tea (AT LEAST) in my cupboard. It’s pretty much the most perfect drink ever – some teas help you sleep, some soothe your stomach, iced tea is refreshing on a hot day, a cup of tea can curb your hunger, or can keep you warm on a cold day. So here are some practical and folk uses for tea and tea bags.

1. Cure carpet odor – Choose spice or vanilla flavors. Let it sit for 15 minutes and vacuum it away.
2. Use it as a dye – Soak light colored fabrics and paper in strongly brewed tea to give it a mellow tan color.
3. Use chamomile or lavender tea as a sleep aid.
4. Use tea to clean caked on or greasy pans. Drop a tea bag into it and allow to soak over night. The acid in the tea helps to break down the caked on grease.
5. Take a moisturizing antioxidant rich bath. Place a couple of green tea bags under the faucet as you run hot water for a bath. The green tea will help rehydrate and sooth your skin.
6. Use warm tea bags for a DIY facial. Place the warm tea bags/leaves on your face and the tannins will tighten pores and reduce puffiness.
7. Chamomile or peppermint tea makes a soothing footbath, get rid of orders and is softening.
8. When making soap, melt the glycerin and add tea in nearly any form to a mold of soap before it cools. The tea will settle in the bottom of the mold, (top of the bar of soap) and makes a great exfoliant.
9. Tea ‘sachets’ made with plain old black tea and placed in the refrigerator will help to eliminate odors.
10. Tea can tenderize meat. The tannins in tea work as a tenderizer to make the meat tasty and delicious when you use it at a marinade or cook the meat in tea.
11. To eliminate food odors on hands, especially fish odors, rinse hands with tea.
12. Mirrors that sparkle and shine. Brew up a batch of strong tea, let it cool, then use it to clean your mirrors. Buff it dry with a soft cloth for a great streak-free shine.
13. Strong footbath of black tea will strengthen the pads of a dogs feet.
14. Use as a breath freshener. A cup of mint tea is a good-tasting breath freshener for after meals, especially if you can’t brush your teeth, or don’t like gum or candy mints.
15. Place hot teabags on canker sores or fever blisters to draw out infections.
16. Place tea leaves in a smoker box when grilling to give your foods a unique flavor.
17. Use herbal tea, such as chamomile, as a soothing facial steam. Place the tea in a bowl of hot water. Hold your face above the bowl and cover your head with the bowl underneath with a towel to hold the team in.
18. Wash your face with tea as a cure for acne.
    
19. If you have a broken fingernail that is still hanging on, cut a small piece of tea bag and coat in clear nail polish. Place over the broken nail and it will adhere the nail together until it grows out. Cover in a colored coat.
20. To heal plantar warts, place a hot wet teabag on it for 15 minutes a day.
21. Freeze leftover tea in an ice cube tray. Use these tea ice cubes the next time you need to cool iced tea.
22. Use dried tea (especially herbal and lavender) as an air freshener.
23. For Brunettes – Wash your hair with black or rooibos tea to give it red highlights.
24. For Blondes – Use chamomile tea to darken your hair (depending on how strong the brewed tea is)
    
25. Add tea to soups, stir-fried veggies and meats for an interesting twist.

And here are a few ideas of what you can do with your already brewed tea bags…

1. Used tea leaves are great food for acid loving houseplants (like ferns and roses). Tear the bag open and empty the leaves into the dirt at the base of your plants.
2. Compost them. Just make sure you remove the staple (if it has one) from the tea bag first.
3. Use them to soothe puffy eyes. This works best if you place the tea backs in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes beforehand.
4. Cold tea bags work well for soothing sun burns.
5. Dry tea leaves out of a teabag make a potpourri, you can also add essential oils if you like.
6. Remove and prevent rust on cast-iron pots and pans by wiping them with a brewed tea bag.
7. Sweeten a litter box. Sprinkle used, but dried out tea bag contents into your cat’s kitty litter. The antibacterial features of the tea help to neutralize odor.
8. Take the leaves from a freshly brewed tea bag and roll them in a scrap of fabric. Use this compress to soothe toothaches, canker sores, and fat lips.
9. Sprinkle damp tea leaves over the ashes in your fireplace before cleaning it out. The tea will help keep the ashes from rising and getting all over the place while you lift them out.
10. Cold, wet teabags will soothe bee stings and insect bite.

Tasty recipes using tea…

1. Stash Tea has a long list of recipes, including some super tasty sounding smoothies (Like the Apple Chttp://www.laquaintrelle.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpinnamon Smoothie or Lemon Blossom Blaster)
2. Bromley Tea has some tips on cooking with tea as well as recipes.
3. The Cat-Tea Corner Recipe Collection has both tea and tea-time recipes.
4. SerendipiTea has some great recipes for both drinks and food.
5. Earl Grey is my favorite tea, here are some tasty recipes using it: Earl Grey Infused Tea Truffles (so good!), Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies, Earl Grey Madeleines with Honey, and Earl Grey Tea Cookies.

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