WAYS TO REUSE TEA LEAVES
As time moves forward more and more of us are learning the benefits of reusing, recycling, and living reciprocally with nature. As it happens, used tea leaves are another wonderful resource that can benefit not only the planet, but you too! From the garden, to your cleaning supplies, and even back in the kitchen there are many brilliant methods most of us can use at home. So instead of washing them down the drain or sending them to the landfill, read on to learn some of the many ways you too can reclaim what would be wasted.
The first and simplest method a shocking number of people aren’t aware of, is to steep your leaves again! Not all teas can be steeped again after their first use, but some (like pu-erh) can be steeped up to 10 times! Some pu-erhs even provide additional flavors after the first steeping as the compressed tea opens up. I’ve also been known to simply leave my previous batch in the tea steeper as I make a different cup, even if it’s not a prolific re-steepable tea a hint of Silver Needles in my next cup of Jasmine can be quite nice. You can also reuse tea leaves in cooking as well. I love to save all my vegetable scraps in the freezer and make a nice broth out of it once I have enough, and tea leaves can be an excellent addition. You’d be surprised how many recipes you can find online that use old tea leaves; like stir-fry’s, ferments, soups, and even salads.
Tea is a fantastic source of nitrogen and other nutrients for the garden, especially green teas. Nitrogen is something lots of plants love, and many gardeners and farmers struggle to get enough of it. You can even save a little money on fertilizer by supplementing a bit of used tea leaves. Cup of Tea has all of their used leaves composted to reduce waste, and many of us can do that at home too. Make sure you have plenty of carbons (dead stuff like dried leaves, dried grass, or cardboard) to mix your tea leaves with to avoid any foul odors. You should have anywhere between 1-3 and 1-30 ratio of nitrogen (like tea leaves and vegetable scraps) to carbons, so as long as your compost is mostly “browns” (carbons), you should be fine. If you don’t have the space to compost, there are plenty of other options as well! You can use it directly on some plants as a mulch. Just remember that tea is usually acidic, and not every plant will benefit from it. Some examples of plants native to the Pacific Northwest that love an occasional tea mulch are roses, rhododendrons, and ferns. Mulch has the benefit of not only providing nutrients over time, but it also helps to maintain moisture. Tea leaves can also repel lots of pests like cats, rodents, and some insects. Burnt tea leaves can even repel mosquitoes! Some people like to boil their tea leaves for a long time (~30 minutes) and use the water after it’s cooled in a watering can. There is such a thing as too much fertilizer though, so don’t do this every time but instead as an occasional treat for your plants.
Used tea leaves also have excellent cleaning and deodorizing properties. If you allow your used green tea leaves to dry out; you can use it to deodorize your refrigerator, oven, wardrobe, or even your shoes. Simply find an adequate container for the application, for shoes use dried tea bags or dump loose leaves in a small mesh bag. Used black tea can be boiled in water for 30 minutes (the more concentrated the better) and the cooled liquid makes a great cleaner for windows, wooden surfaces, and wooden flooring. Once cooled down soak a rag in the tea water, wring out the excess liquid, and wipe down the aforementioned surfaces.
These are just a few different methods hopefully some of us can employ at home to reuse such a wonderful resource. There are even more options out there such as beauty, bathing, art, and divination that aren’t mentioned in this article. If none of these methods work for you, many of us still have access to community compost bins or local farmer markets where someone may take your tea and other organic waste to reuse what you aren’t able to. The possibilities are limitless, so when you finish your Cup of Tea it doesn’t have to end there. ~Tara and Dillan
Onigiri is considered Japanese soul food and compared to easy grab ‘n go foods like burritos and hotdogs because they share the same definition for perfect hand-held, walk-about snacks. Onigiri is a rice ball, typically wrapped in seaweed. It was invented before the existence of refrigeration as a way of preserving fresh rice with pickled fillings so it could carry along with people traveling, for soldiers on foot, and farmers working in the fields. Onigiri is still one of the most popular snacks in Japan and is enjoyed by people of all ages. In some regions of Japan, onigiri is also called omusubi, which is associated with Japanese folklore and specifically refers to the triangle formed onigiri. The rice is squeezed into a “mountain shape” as a symbol and hope to receive the power of God. History shows that travelers carried these triangle-shaped snacks with them as a way of requesting safe travels from the spirits who inhabited nature. From what I understand, only
this shape is called omusubi. The word onigiri comes from nigirimeshi which translates “to squeeze.” Squeezing is the technique used to form the rice into a shape that binds it together. I was thankful to learn about this because some of the onigiri I made, were definitely NOT triangles.
Darjeeling tea inspired this noodle soup. Recipe testing this broth with an infusion of tea took several tries, but we finally landed on one that we really enjoyed. It isn’t overwhelmingly tea forward but just enough so the essence of Darjeeling snuggles in nicely with the chicken broth and spices. This is a warming, comforting soup. The combination of noodles and meatballs swimming in a broth of sunshine is perfect on a cloudy day. Serve with a simple green salad or green onion pancakes and your favorite beverage.
First, the water must steam. Next, the leaves must steep. Then, the tea must cool. Finally, you may enjoy. The act of making tea is a process that asks you to slow down for a moment and create something for yourself with intention. The warm cup in your hands, the hot tea flowing past your lips, the feeling in your heart as you swallow it. Tea is sensational, it gets you in touch with your body as well as your mind. It’s also a process to hone; you learn how to work with your equipment and in that way you develop a relationship with your kettle, teacup and steeper. You learn the small adjustments that you like to make the tea to your liking. Tea slows you down and gets you in touch with yourself.
a mushroom medley, or absorb the high caffeine content of a matcha latte. To drink a cup of tea is to build a connection between you and another organism, to receive support from plants that humans have been cultivating and nourishing for centuries to receive their gifts of healing and joy. You’re granted the privilege of strengthening and elevating yourself with support from another.
When you make yourself a cup of tea you’re doing something nice for yourself. You don’t need tea to survive, even though it may feel like it sometimes. Tea is a treat, and the drinking and preparation of tea is taking time out of your busy life to make yourself a treat. Not only is the tea itself tasty and beneficial, but also the manner in which you prepare it. In Iran, for example, it’s traditional to hold a sugar cube between your teeth while you drink strong tea, and in India you’ll experience the more spiced blends that we call chai here in the West. In my house I have a special teapot just for my favorite tea, my friend has an iced tea jug that they cold steep their tea in to keep in the fridge. I’ve even had tea served to me by boiling water in a pot on the stove, and having it poured over a tea bag. I have, however, gifted them a steeper and some loose-leaf tea since then. There’s no wrong way to enjoy tea, and it’s an opportunity for self expression and personalizing your experience to suit your tastes. Whether you’re using an electric kettle with temperature control or eyeballing the steam level on your gaiwan, it’s your experience and it’s unique.
This recipe is from an amazing local chef, Fern, who celebrates the art of cooking vegetarian and vegan with the hope to inspire the chef that resides inside of all of us.
The world of chai is vast and spans centuries. With so many different ways to create chai tea, the rich history of chai, and even the amount of different chais we have in the shop, it can be difficult to know where to start. We hope this will be the perfect introduction into the 
