Friday, March 26, 2010

How to Recycle Used Tea Leaves

Today, after my third cup of tea at my boring job, I thought about the amount of loose tea I've wasted throughout my fifteen years of daily tea drinking.  In the spirit of going green, and simply being less wasteful, I thought I'd post a couple of ways to reuse, and get the maximum benefits from your tea. Doing my research I found some fabulous websites devoted to tea-- especially Ya-Ya Tea House-- that I will definitely consult with in the future.

1.  Make a tea pillow. As the writer notes on the Ya- Ya Tea House's website, this will take quite a bit of time and quite a bit of tea; However, the benefits will be amazing! Many eastern medicines suggest using a tea pillow to combat headaches, insomnia, and even to relieve blood pressure.

2. Cleaning. Although we all know that tea is great for detoxifying your body, Ya- Ya Tea house notes several ways tea can be used to clean your home. Damp tea leaves and cloth can be used to keep mirrors and windows streak-free. In addition, tea can remove the rust from cast iron pots and deodorize refrigerators.

3.  Skincare. Of course, we've all noticed the amount of skin products that contain tea at our local stores. According to several websites, the caffeine (and other healthy substances that I probably cannot spell) in tea can be used to reduce puffiness around the eyes, soften wrinkles, and basically just perk up the skin. Ya- Ya also suggests using loose tea leaves in combination with baking soda for a relaxing bath. 

4.  Gardening. I'm not too good at the nature stuff, but many websites suggest using used tea for fertilizer and composting.... Yeah, that's all I have to offer on that subject.


Well, I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg (did I get that right?) of the uses for used tea leaves and bags. Please find below a link to the websites I used as sources, as well as a delicious recipe for Earl Grey Tea Cookies, from Real Simple's (or, Real and Simple, as I like to call it) website. xoxoxox.




http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/earl-grey-tea-cookies-10000001046907/index.html

http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/15/green-innovations-12-ways-to-recycle-used-tea-leaves/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1029172/handy_ways_to_recycle_used_tea_bags.html?cat=32