How to Use Tea at Home for More Than Drinking

Drinking tea is a popular activity throughout the world. In Great Britain, for example, having afternoon tea is part of local culture. Elsewhere, having tea could be related to something as simple as warming up when it’s cold.

But did you know that you can put the tea to many other uses, including garden fertilization and burn relief? If not, continue reading our 5-Minute Crafts guide to learn more about how to use tea at home as more than just a drink.

1. Refresh a small room.

You can hang fragrant tea bags to perfume small spaces, such as bathrooms or tiny rooms. Most teas have pleasant and mild smells and are affordable compared to various scented candles and air fresheners full of chemicals. Some of the most scented teas are jasmine, Earl Grey, citrus, and peppermint teas.

All you’d need to do is experiment with the number of tea bags and types of tea to find your ideal combination and smell intensity. If you wish to enhance the smell at some point, consider adding a drop or 2 of some essential oil to tea bags.

2. Relieve localized pain from a scar or burn.

Have you pressed a razor onto your skin too hard while shaving or burned yourself with steam while ironing? If so, you can relieve the pain instantly by placing a used tea bag on the area that hurts you.

Note: If the affected area is too large for the tea bag to solve the issue — like if you’ve got sunburns all over your body, for example — consider asking a specialist for medical advice.

3. Take a tea bath for various health benefits.

Adding tea to a bath contributes to many health benefits, including reducing skin inflammation, for example. As a bonus, your bathroom will smell great. The simplest option is to add between 3 and 5 tea bags to your bath. Alternatively, you can prepare a pot of strong tea, such as Earl Grey, and pour it into the bath.

Jasmine, chamomile, lavender, and peppermint are a few ideal tea bath options. Jasmine is full of antioxidants, which help your skin moisturize and brighten. Chamomile, on the other hand, soothes irritated skin and helps minimize acne scars. Next, peppermint relieves sunburns. Finally, a combination of lavender and peppermint relieves headaches.

4. Deodorize smelly feet.

If your feet get sweaty and smelly easily, you can use black tea to rid yourself of foot odor. To that end, do the following:

1. Boil 2 bags of black tea per pint (0.57 liters) of water for around 15 minutes.
2. Add 2 quarts (1.89 liters) of cool water afterward.
3. Pour the cooled tea into a washbowl and soak your feet for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Repeat the procedure every day for a week for the best effect.

5. Make some potpourri for your dishes.

To create a mix that can make any poultry or red meat meal a gourmet experience, prepare the following ingredients:

• 1 and a half cups of cool black or green tea
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh marjoram
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons of stone-ground mustard

Then, do the following:

1. Add tea, both mustards, oregano, and marjoram in a bowl, and whisk everything together until the ingredients blend well.
2. Add olive oil and whisk until the concoction becomes consistent as a loose vinaigrette.
3. Place meat in a large dish, pour the marinade over it, and put the dish in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
4. Take out the meat from the marinade, pat it lightly with paper towels to get it dry, and then grill the meat to your liking.

6. Fertilize your garden.

If you don’t wish to use fertilizers that could harm nature to fertilize your garden, you can make use of tea bags. However, remember that tea bags have to be biodegradable and used. Alternatively, you can resort to using loose tea leaves that aren’t in tea bags. Adding tea to compost — a fertilizer consisting of decayed organic materials — results in additional plant nourishment and keeping weeds away.