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Green Journal: Reuse Green Tea Leaves
September 17, 2007

Although I’ve been a long time coffee drinker, I’ve been drinking more tea lately. My cupboard is filled with different varieties though my favorite is green tea. Packed with a delicate but potent flavor and antioxidants, green tea is becoming my new morning ritual. When I began my green journal, one of my resolves was to skip the café run and make my own tea at home, which saves time, money and the potential of forgetting to BYOC. Up until now, I have only been reusing my leaves for a 2nd cup. After talking to my mother about my new habit, she gave me some ideas on how to squeeze extra benefits out of used tea leaves.

So after drinking your cup(s) of tea, first thoroughly strain the leaves or bags. Then spread the leaves (flat) on a cheese cloth or paper towels to dry. The leaves will probably require a couple of turns to completely dry. To easily turn the loose leaves, slide a baking tray (or some flat cardboard) under the cloth, cover the top with another cloth and tray and turn it over. Once the leaves are dry, feel free to try the suggestions below.

Cooling pads for tired eyes: Put cooled, moist tea bags over your eyes to sooth and reduce puffiness.

Natural Deodorizer: Place some used, dried leaves in a small bowl to absorb food odors in the refrigerator. For trash cans and compactors, I found that a generous sprinkle of dried leaves fights odors as well as baking soda.

Cleaning the cutting board: Instead of squeezing lemon juice on the board, rub some dried leaves (with your hands) on a rinsed board and then rinse again. The tea will clean both the board and your hands of odor and bacteria. This seems to work better with wood boards.

Free fertilizer: Just like coffee grounds, used tea leaves make good addition to compost. If you don’t have a compost box, scatter some dried leaves near the root of the plant and cover with some soil. You should first do a small test patch on more delicate plants to make sure the tea doesn’t “burn” the roots.

Stuffing for a therapeutic pillow: Thinking back, I now remember a soft and great smelling tea stuffed pillow that was favored by my grandmother. Rather than a standard sized pillow, try making a smaller, neckroll that may take only half the amount of leaves. Of course this will still take A LOT of tea leaves but my mom swears it’s worth the effort.

I’ve tried the first three suggestions and am just starting to save my pile for the neckroll pillow!

Btw, if you have other clever ideas on how to reuse or recycle tea leaves or anything else, don’t forget to check out our Reduce, Recycle, Reuse Blog Carnival!

CindyC at Organicpicks

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Other Green Journals on Reuse:
Composting
Preserving Basil
Picnic Without Paper Or Plastic
Recycle, Reuse, Recreation Project

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