Non-beverage tea uses

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Non-beverage tea uses

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1gmathis
jan 23, 2009, 2:43 pm

Has anyone successfully tried any of the mythical "non-tea" uses for tea? I swear by cheap black teabags (damp) on tired eyes. Have also heard it's a nice hair color touch-up.....can't decide if I should attempt coloring the gray patches with oolong or keemun!

2k00kaburra
jan 23, 2009, 2:55 pm

When I had gum surgery, I was encouraged to use black tea bags to soak up the blood from the cuts. Apparently it's very good at helping heal wounds in the mouth. Don't know about external cuts and scrapes, tho'.

3LA12Hernandez
jan 23, 2009, 3:43 pm

I use to make dolls and used tea to give them an aged look. I also use a strong tea as a wood dye. It gives the wood a more natural dark wood color. But I've only used it on small projects. And in Chinese Brush painting, we put a glass on the rice paper and brush a little tea around it and over the paper to give us a sun or moon effect.

4staffordcastle
jan 23, 2009, 3:57 pm

I've used it as a dye quite successfully; different teas give different colors. Mostly they are not the color you would expect - more in the peach range than the tan you think of when you say "tea-dye"!

5defaults
jan 24, 2009, 1:01 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_egg

1. Hard boil egg
2. Crack shell lightly
3. Boil again in tea

6aviddiva
Bewerkt: jan 24, 2009, 1:50 pm

I've used it as a dye, and also put the used tea leaves in the garden around acid-loving plants like hydrangeas.

7Rowntree
apr 10, 2009, 5:20 pm

I've had good results treating sunburn with strong (cold) tea, or used bags.

8reading_fox
apr 11, 2009, 12:49 pm

I've made cakes with tea liqor in them if that counts.

And also compost as in #6

9John5918
apr 19, 2009, 10:28 am

I'm not sure if it's a "use" (or could be turned into one?) but I've noticed that the cockroaches in the pantry tend to avoid black tea leaves but are not deterred by the various herbal versions (including rooibos).

10HollowSpine
Bewerkt: apr 24, 2009, 5:18 pm

Has anyone tried to do the tea-egg? What tea would you suggest?

11rowmyboat
apr 24, 2009, 8:54 pm

A damp tea bag will dry out blisters. Turns your skin tan, though.

We'd use them during the more intense periods of training when I was a college rower. Lots of blisters on our hands.

12Karen5Lund
mei 24, 2009, 8:37 am

A friend told me she used the paper from tea bags to mend chipped fingernails. I the nail is still attached, apply clear polish, use a small piece of tea bag paper like a Band-Aid to hold the torn bit of nail in place, allow to dry, then apply polish over the paper to cover. Never tried it myself.

PressShift1 (11), that sounds better than what the crew team did when I was in college. They used some chemical-smelling thing or else soaked their blisters in pickle juice. I'd way rather smell of tea and have tan spots on my hands than smell like pickles or chemicals.

I like the idea of cooking with tea. Might try the eggs one of these days....

13pollysmith
mei 24, 2009, 2:23 pm

Tea makes a good meat tenderizer too. Soak your meat in cooled tea and you can add some other herbs and spices of your choice (No salt tho)

15HollowSpine
mei 29, 2009, 12:07 pm

>14 bnielsen:

I hope it was Liptons...

16soniaandree
mei 29, 2009, 12:26 pm

I think you can use the content of black tea bags in potted plants' soil to ward off pests and mites...

17soniaandree
mei 29, 2009, 12:29 pm

It works for coffee too.

18staffordcastle
mei 29, 2009, 12:35 pm

>6 aviddiva:
I've used it as a dye too; I was making a tea-themed crazy quilt, and dyed some of the lace appliques with actual tea. Green tea doesn't do much, but black tea turned white lace into a pale orange color.

19amaranthic
mei 29, 2009, 12:44 pm

>10 HollowSpine:

In my experience, cheap pu-erh tea or black tea works well. Just brew it strong!

20Marensr
jun 15, 2009, 1:47 pm

Ah and for the blondes chamomile is good for a hair rinse that sort of accentuates the blonde.

21mvrdrk
jun 15, 2009, 1:55 pm

I make tea eggs all the time.

22jet_doyle
jul 7, 2009, 6:58 pm

>6 aviddiva: and >18 staffordcastle:

I have used tea as a dye for invitations and letters. I find black/red tea makes a very rich color while loose lavender/jasmine create a rich aroma that adheres to the paper.

23alexa_d
jul 8, 2009, 9:22 am

>20 Marensr: I've also used chamomile as a facial steam. Just 3-4 teabags in a largish bowl, add boiling water, and throw a towel over your head.

24gmathis
jul 8, 2009, 11:21 am

Bought some spicy holiday tea that I didn't care for the flavor of, but it made a great Christmas potpourri in a simmer pot over a tea candle.

25Karen5Lund
sep 8, 2009, 1:22 pm

Gmathis (24): I had a similar experience with a tisane (all spices, no tea) that I didn't much like, but it was very tasty simmered with apple cider for a mulled cider.

(This cooler weather has me thinking of mulled cider and other Fall treats.)

26Osbaldistone
Bewerkt: sep 8, 2009, 1:34 pm

>25 Karen5Lund:
It's been over 100 F (about 38C) for 68 days this summer (central Texas) and we're still in the 90s now (over 32C) and the lows at night are above 70 (above 21C), so I'm going into hot tea withdrawal. I started turning up the ceiling fans and brewing up a pot of tea late at night. My spouse thinks I'm nuts. Probably true.

Yes, I drink iced tea. Not the same.

just waiting for winter,
Os.

27CliffordDorset
sep 8, 2009, 2:37 pm

Several posts referring to the dyeing property of black tea suggest to me that taking a long bath in cold/lukewarm/warm tea might give you an overall tan which, although only lasting a few weeks, would be a lot cheaper and safer than using a sunbed.

Be prepared to bleach the bath afterwards, though!
.

28gmathis
Bewerkt: sep 9, 2009, 8:38 am

26 (Os) ... I feel your pain from late May to mid-September! It's starting in our whereabouts to let up enough to make a cuppa comfortable in the mornings!

And chamomile does make a nice bath soak!

29alexa_d
sep 9, 2009, 6:18 pm

#27

Finally, a use for the Salada teabags my old roommate left behind! I can never bear to throw out tea, but I can hardly drink that stuff.

30twogerbils
sep 10, 2009, 4:36 pm

I've tried the hair-dying thing.

31Gail.C.Bull
mrt 14, 2011, 4:07 pm

Keep your used tea leaves for plant fertilizer. Squeeze as much of the excess water as you can out of the tea leaves and then bury them in the soil next to plants and bushes, or in the soil of your houseplants.

32staffordcastle
mrt 14, 2011, 10:27 pm

My mom used to do that; it's particularly good for plants that like acidic soil.

33LintonRobinson
mrt 15, 2011, 3:23 am

I absolutely recommend clenching a teabag in the cavity where a tooth was recently extracted. Stops the bleeding, heals, cuts the pain.

34Kek55
mrt 19, 2011, 12:23 am

After my LASIK surgery, I found the steam from my daily cups of tea to be soothing on my eyes and made a point of "steaming" my eyes at every opportunity for several months. I'm convinced this helped with the healing process and my eye doctor said I healed so well you can barely see the procedure's been done.

35Yamanekotei
nov 18, 2011, 2:46 am

My grandma used to sprinkle used loose leaf for cleaning tatami floor and cement patio. It subsides dust cloud when you sweep the area, and aroma of tea remains there a while.

Another way to use used leaf is to mix into flour and water to make face pack (mud pack mask). Recipe varies from person to person, but I like the simplest one.

36staffordcastle
nov 18, 2011, 6:07 pm

Used tea leaves have been used in the same way to clean carpets in England and the US since the 19th century at least, though I don't know if anyone still does it!

37Yamanekotei
nov 27, 2011, 3:03 pm

>36 staffordcastle: staffordcastle

I have never thought of cleaning carpets with used tea leaves! I would love to know how, so I can get rid of my guilty feeling that I am wasting precious resources.

38staffordcastle
Bewerkt: nov 28, 2011, 6:42 pm

Well, I've never done it myself, but I think you just sprinkle the damp tea-leaves on the carpet and sweep them around! Because they're damp, they scoop up the dust.

39Yamanekotei
nov 28, 2011, 10:19 pm

>38 staffordcastle: staffordcastle

Thanks a much! ♪(^^)/

40Gail.C.Bull
Bewerkt: mrt 28, 2012, 8:31 pm

I recently heard that green tea bags soaked in water and placed over the eyes for 15 minutes helps to reduce the size of "bags" under the eyes. It has something to do with the fact that bags under the eyes are caused by blood pooling in the veins and tea helping to minimize the size of the veins. I have no idea if it works though.

41rathad
mrt 29, 2012, 7:17 pm

Instead of water use brewed tea for making rice in a cooker. Regular rice, I have never tried it with instant. Adds a little different flavor and color, if you use white rice.

42margd
jun 20, 2016, 5:28 am

>7 Rowntree: Sunburn

My mom applied tea leaves to my sister's burned feet. (Big sister had neglected to run cold water with hot when drawing her bath...) Sister settled down and recovered nicely but I don't know how much the tea leaves helped. I assume a bit of soothing astringency plus antibiotic action?

>10 HollowSpine: tea eggs

I've made them--any taste diff from regular boiled eggs is subtle. Surface has an interesting pattern of brown hues. I think the Chinese call them "Son-in-Law Eggs"--I assume because SILs will love them?

43tealadytoo
Bewerkt: jun 20, 2016, 4:18 pm

>42 margd: My Irish grandmother always kept a pot of old wet tealeaves by her stove. One day some hot grease splashed on her hand and she stuck it right into the tea leaves. Doctor later told her it was the right move and probably saved her hand from bad scarring.

Another medical thing, when I had a wisdom tooth pulled, the nurse gave me some gauze to take home to pack it with, but said if I just soaked a teabag in cold water and used that instead it would probably work better to stop the bleeding and soothe it. Worked great.

44aviddiva
jun 26, 2016, 6:40 pm

>10 HollowSpine: We make tea eggs -- they are my son's favorite. We use any black tea with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, peppercorns and soy sauce. I don't love them because I'm not a fan of star anise, but my husband and son gobble them up.

45tealadytoo
jun 26, 2016, 11:05 pm

>44 aviddiva:. My, that does sound tasty.

462wonderY
okt 25, 2016, 9:33 am

I dry used tea bags and then empty the contents. The fine granules make a convincing soil and mulch in miniature landscaping projects.

47WeeTurtle
mei 30, 2018, 3:21 am

(Don't mind me, I'm new here)

My mother used to wipe my sister and I's faces with a napkin dipped in her (very weak) tea. Used to drive me nuts but apparently their are some antiseptic properties to it. Now I find I do it myself, especially if I have a greasy spot. Darn Mom.

48gmathis
mei 30, 2018, 8:37 am

Our cat is sensitive to critter bites in the summer; we keep a jar of steeped calendula leaves in the fridge and dab them on his owies. Soothes him and no harm done if he ingests some.

49WeeTurtle
dec 6, 2018, 1:51 am

I might have to try the floor cleaning trick. My sister and I go through piles of black tea. We cut the bags open and remove the tea for the compost because bags don't compost well and the dogs will run off with them. It's a farm, so there is dust, dirt, dander, dog hair, etc. all over the floors. Would it be a problem for wood? (And I think these are actual wood and not laminate.)