8 Ways to Use Tea Bags (Besides Brewing Tea)

Besides brewing your favourite cup of tea, the humble tea bag can do so much more for you!

Our teas come in so many flavours and styles, giving you endless uses for this versatile pantry staple. Whether you are looking to add extra flavour to your home baking or to create a DIY spa day, try these 8 simple tricks to help get the most out of your tea collection.

1. Rooibos Infused Syrups

Add a delicious rooibos sweetness to your baked goods or at-home cocktails with tea-infused simple syrups. To make, steep tea as usual in a cup of hot water using 2-3 tea bags, more for a stronger syrup. Remove the tea bag and melt in a cup sugar. The syrup can then be stirred into iced coffee, tea, cocktails, or used in or on top of baked goods.

2. Make it a G&Tea!

Instead of spending more money on a fancy bottle of flavoured alcohol, make your own! Pour a tot of your favourite clear spirits like gin or vodka, add your favourite teabag and let it steep for about 15 minutes — that is it — and you’ll taste its complex, concentrated flavours. If you want more flavour, use more tea (rather than tacking on more time, which can lead to bitterness). If that is too much effort, try our rooibos distilled gin and add your teabag for extra flavour!

3. Make Tea Eggs

Add an earthy, herbal flavour to boiled eggs by soaking them overnight in tea. Classic Chinese tea eggs use black tea as well as aromatics to infuse the already cooked eggs with a tasty exterior. To make, boil eggs in water as desired, then crack the shells or completely peel, and soak the eggs for 12 hours in a steeped black tea (or your favourite rooibos tea) to your liking.

4. Relax with Green Tea Bag Masks

Need a quick anti-inflammatory eye boost? Soak two unflavored green tea bags in warm water, drain, cool to touch and rest on your closed lids. The caffeine in green tea will help de-puff the gentle skin around your eyes and the antioxidants will refresh your skin. You can also try our Red Mocha with coffee bean nibs for the same effect.

5. Use Herbal Tea in the Bathtub

After all, herbal tea is just a combination of aromatic dried herbs (like rooibos), fresh flowers, spices, and other ingredients that both smell and taste amazing. Add 2-6 herbal tea bags to a warm bubble bath to soak in the herbal goodness. Our fruit & herbal infusion teas are perfect for this!

6. Paint with Tea

Feeling artsy? Before buying yourself paint that you may not use again, consider using what you have at home: Tea. Fill small bowls with boiling water and infuse various flavours of tea in the water for several minutes. Vary seeping times for darker and lighter colours and get to work on your canvas. Watercolour brushes work best with this technique, but you can get creative with sponges, potato stamps, or whatever tools best suit your creative mood.

7. Make Cold Brew Tea to Go

Instead of splurging on a bottle of iced tea when you are out and about, prepare for the day ahead by making your own iced tea. Take a reusable water bottle, fill it up with water, and add one of our cold brew tea bags. You can leave it in the fridge overnight for the following day and remove the teabag on your way out or pop an envelope in your bag and prepare your tea throughout the day. A cold, delicious tea drink on the go!

8. Compost Used Tea Leaves and Tea Bags

Whether you have a compost bin at home, or a community compost drop off, do not forget to include your spent tea leaves. While some tea bags are compostable as is (like ours, read more here), others will need to be cut open and added to the organics pile to help create plant fertilizer.

Original article via realsimple.com