Tea is an item that I believe was sent to us from the heavens. It has caffeine, the comfort of a hug, and so many fun flavors! I’m such a tea lover, but my collection is so huge that I could never drink it all. I love to “infuse” my life with tea by using it in various ways
Steam Facial
Steep a tea bag in a pot of boiling water, especially an invigorating caffeinated black tea. It can reduce puffiness and soothe skin. Put your face over the pot and steam your face for 5-10 minutes and end feeling refreshed.
Use it in baking
Infuse cookies, cakes, or other treats with tea by steeping a tea bag in hot water or milk, depending on the recipe. The best varieties for this are green tea and Earl Grey because they pack a strong flavor punch.
Use it in savory cooking
This is an easy way to make any food fancier. For example, how good does Earl Grey brown butter gnocchi sound? Tea also is fantastic for tenderizing meat and reducing its chewiness. Just steep the meat in a mixture of tea, water, and sugar before cooking.
Bathe in it
If you’ve got a bunch of tea bags in a flavor you don’t like the taste of and you want to get rid of them, chuck the lot in your bathtub before you take a bath for an extra invigorating bath time.
Clean your mirrors
In college, I don’t have the budget to buy a cleaner especially for my mirrors. Instead, I boil a really strong pot of tea and dip a rag in it to wipe down all my mirrors. This also works great for other glass surfaces like windows.
Color your hair
Blondes can add light highlights to their hair by soaking their hair in chamomile tea. Brunettes can darken their hair by soaking it in a strong black tea. The results will be subtle, but this is a great non-damaging natural option for getting a little variation in your hair.
Remove odors
Keep a tea bag in each of your shoes to deodorize them and keep odors at bay. This is a great way to use tea that’s gone stale but you still want to get some use out of. And your whole closet will smell great as a bonus.
Create Art
Use tea to naturally dye Easter eggs, color paper to give it an “antique” look, or dye clothes. The longer you steep the tea bags, the darker the color you’ll be able to get. The best part is that tea comes in fun colors too like green, yellow, and red.
Tea is a super fun but underrated item. It’s present in almost every culture in some form. Try out these ideas to get some creative use out of your extra tea bags.