Tea is not just for drinking! If anyone still won’t drink tea, there are many other invaluable ways to gain the beneficial properties of Camellia Sinensis, and tea lovers everywhere can use leftover leaves for other great uses.
– Eating tea is another great way to get some benefits. Tea is great in all sorts of recipes. By concentrating tea, it can often be substituted in baking recipes. Tea can also be used to make delicious marinades and sauces.
– Mosquitoes dislike the scent of burnt tea leaves, thus the leaves act as a repellant if left out in the sun.
– Green tea can aid dry skin.
– Tea can act as an excellent fertilizer
– Tea can be used as a deodorizer for the fridge, carpets, cars, etc.
– Tea can be great for nourishing hair if washed by a brewed cup of tea.
– Wet tea bags placed on the face can help tighten pores and reduce puffiness. Two warm, damp teabags work great over the eyes. The soothing effect also works on sunburnt skin – try adding some tea to your bath.
To get you started, here is a recipe for green tea ice cream, from The Little Black Book of Tea:
Ingredients:
- -1 cup milk
- -3 egg yolks
- -1/2 cup sugar
- -2 cups cream
- -1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- -4 teaspoons matcha
- -1/8 cup water
- -Pinch of salt
Heat milk in saucepan until almost boiling. Place egg yolks in a bowl and stir in sugar. Add a few tablespoons of hot milk to yolks and stir; repeat until all milk used. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over low to moderate heat until it thickens into a pudding, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in cream and vanilla and set aside. Whisk matcha into water, and add salt. Stir matcha into ice cream mixture and cool in fridge for several hours. Prepare in an ice cream maker. 6 servings.
How else do you use tea? Share your other uses here!
Steeped in Tea 
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