Tea Leaf Reuses

(Sorry for the long, loooong delay in postings. I finally can log into blogger again, so I can post a few ramblings that I made back in March.)

I love strong, smokey, black tea.

The kind that puts hair on your chest and yellows the teeth. That’s a sexy image, eh? I was lamenting about tea with my mother, how my very, very favorite is all gone. A loose-leaf black tea called ‘Russian Caravan’ that I used to get in bulk years ago. It had such a dark, complex flavor that was entirely romantic, exotic and nostalgic all at once.

Well, my mother surprised me and ordered a bulk bag  of some off amazon.com: 

 

It’s Davidson’s brand.

It’s not as strong as the tea I remember, but it’s decently good.  I think I used to get Frontier brand. I’ve been brewing bundles of it in the chilly wet morns, but I was ashamed of how much of the spent product was just being tossed. But I don’t have a compost (I know…) so I’d just been scattering them outside. But lately I’ve been liking the used leaves as a top layer mulch on my porch plants.

It doesn’t have any added chemicals, so I’m not too worried about any damage it could do and it has a very pleasant color and scent that is a nice break from the standard wood chip or pine straw mulch that are the common options. So, after I make a cup of tea, I neatly scatter it into my pots. I already have the French lavender done. I really like that it kind-of looks like soil, yet keeps the moisture in and nosy squirrels out. (Seriously… all last year I would go out there to find sunflowers and corn…yes, corn… growing in my pots because the rodents want to be farmers.) 

Let’s also not forget the benefits of the cosmetic use of teabags! Hot herbal tea bags are invaluable for those like me who suffer from stye eye occasionally :( . Or, put the used bags into the fridge and set them on or under the eyes if they are tired or puffy if you’ve had an emotionally day. It can really help your face and soul get back to rights again.