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It’s National Hot Tea Month! While we enjoy tea all year ’round, we thought it might be fun to showcase a different use for every day in January.

Many of these are folk uses, but we’ll try to back them up with scientific studies when possible. Remember to consult your doctor before trying any new health regimen.

1. Give new garments a taste of history.

Use a strong black tea to naturally dye white garments antique beige, ecru, or ivory. Steep 3 tea bags for every 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Let the tea cool completely before submerging the garment for 10 minutes or more. The longer you leave it, the darker it gets. Use cotton for the best results.

Recommended Tea: Ceylon Star Black Tea is strong and well-priced.

2. Stop and feed the roses.

Roses love the tannic acids naturally found in tea. Simply place new or used tea leaves (loose or in the bag) around the base of your bushes. As you water your roses, they’ll receive the nutrients they love.

Food for thought: if you give your roses Sweet Serenade White Tea, does that make them cannibals?!

3. Quicken your compost.

You can accelerate decomposition and draw desirable, acid-producing bacteria by pouring a few cups of strongly brewed tea into your pile.

4. Help your mirrors look their fairest.

To give your mirrors extra shine, dampen a soft cloth in cool tea and wipe it all over the surface of the mirror. Then use another soft cloth to buff it for a streak-free surface.

5. Twinkle your toes.

Eradicate foot odor by soaking your feet in strong, warm tea for 20 minutes per day.

Recommended Tea: Organic Moroccan Mint Green Tea smells great and is super refreshing.

6. Make your meat melt.

Not only does tea tenderize tough meat, it can also add some wonderful flavors.

Steak Rub
Makes enough to cover 2 (16-ounce) steaks

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons dry black tea
• 2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. To use, rub it into both sides of your steak, lamb, or other hearty meats prior to grilling.

Recommended Tea: Lapsang Souchong is dried over a pine fire for a natural, slightly smoky flavor.

7. Get rid of grays.

Tea makes a natural hair dye.

What you’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon of black tea
• 1 tablespoon of rosemary
• 1 tablespoon of sage

Steep the tea, rosemary, and sage in 1 cup of boiling water. Let the mixture stand overnight.

After shampooing, pour or spray the mixture over your hair, thoroughly saturating it from roots to ends. Take care not to get the mixture on your clothes. Blot with a towel and do not rinse. You may need several applications to reach your desired color.

Recommended Tea: Simply Strawberry Black Tea will make your hair smell amazing!

8. Soothe a sunburn.

To treat a minor burn, place wet teabags over the affected area. If you have a sunburn on a larger area of your body, put some teabags in your bath water and soak away the pain.

9. Illuminate your locks.

Condition your hair and add shine by rinsing with a quart (liter) of warm, unsweetened tea after you shampoo.

10. Mollify your mouth.

If you’re suffering from a toothache, an herbal infusion can help ease the pain. Peppermint contains menthol, which has local anesthetic and counterirritant qualities.

1. Boil 1 tablespoon of Organic Peppermint Leaves in a cup of water for several minutes.
2. Add a pinch of salt.
3. Allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm, then rinse your mouth with it.

11. Nix a nick.

The tannins in tea can stop a minor nick from bleeding. Saturate a tea bag with hot water and hold it on the cut for 30 seconds. Then remove the tea bag and cover the cut with a bandage.

12. Send mites to their maker.

To kill dust mites, spray diluted black tea on the carpet. Be sure to spot-check the mix in an inconspicuous place first to avoid staining the rug!

13. Prevent rust on your trusty iron cookware.

Take advantage of the tannins in tea; they prevent oxidation, which causes rust. After each cooking session, wipe down your pan with a damp, used black tea leaves to create an invisible layer of protection.

Recommended Accessory: Brew black tea in a personal tea sack to make it easy to handle.

14. Eyeball your tea.

Relieve tired, puffy eyes by placing a chilled, used tea bag on them for 15 minutes. It will reduce puffiness and even under eye circles.

15. Flavor your food.

Tea can be steeped in nearly any liquid to add a unique flavor to your dishes. Steep tea in broth for soup, poach meats and fish in tea, and add tea to milk, coconut milk, and/or juice to provide a tasty base for desserts. You can even hang a couple tea bags over the side of the pot as you boil pasta or prepare water for cooking rice and other grains.

Recommended Tea: Masala Chai makes a great addition to oatmeal and will pep you up in the morning.

16. Freshen up your fridge.

Forget ruining a box of baking soda. Just throw used tea leaves or bags in the fridge and they’ll absorb any odious odors. Use dry pre-brewed tea leaves at the bottom of your trash can for the same effect.

17. Brew up something for the Easter Bunny.

We don’t know if our favorite candy-bearing creature likes to drink tea, but you can sure use it to dye eggs. For an all-natural egg colorant, brew some extra-strong tea. Add a splash of vinegar and then completely submerge the eggs for an hour. Try different teas to switch up the colors. Don’t be afraid to mix and match teas to create new color combinations.

Recommended Tea: Blue Butterfly Garden Herbal Tea brews bright blue!

18. Move some mice.

These little rodents aren’t huge fans of the smell of tea. Stash dried, used tea leaves or bags in corners critters frequent as a natural deterrent.

Recommended Tea: Moroccan Mint acts as a natural air freshener and keeps out their buddies spiders and ants.

19. Rid your hands of rotten smells.

Scrub your hands with used tea leaves to remove the scents of onions, garlic, fish, and other undesirable odors.

Recommended Tea: Green Citrus Dragon Tea accentuates green tea with pleasant lemon and orange flavors.

20. Worry your warts.

Get rid of plantar warts on your feet by pressing a warm, wet tea bag on the affected area for 20 minutes per day.

21. Fight Poison Ivy – the rash that is.

Tea may give you energy to fight super villains, but it won’t keep you from crying after a defeat. It will, however, keep poison ivy rashes from weeping. Soak a cotton ball in tea and dab it on the affected area. Let it air dry, and it should dry the rash, as well. Repeat as needed.

22. Disinfect and perfume your skin.

Tea has antibacterial qualities, which makes it great for your skin. Soak in a fragrant bath of Jasmine Green Tea or relax with an herbal infusion of Mint Chamomile. We recommend these personal tea sacks to pre-make satchels.

23. Keep kitty litter fresh.

Add dried, green tea leaves to your litter to keep it fresher longer.

24. Replace your therapist with tea.

Okay, tea won’t help you work through your issues, but the scents of herbal infusions like chamomile, lavender, and rose are rumored to reduce stress.

Place the dried plants in a satchel or personal tea bag and rest them over your eyes, or brew them up and gently inhale the steam.

Recommended Tea: Lavender Herbal Tea offers a fragrant and soothing scent.

25. Don’t eat your dust.

Sprinkle wet tea leaves in your fireplace before cleaning to reduce dust.

26. Power through pinkeye.

Kitchen wisdom tells us to use warm, wet tea bags as a compress on your eyes to reduce the pain and inflammation from pinkeye.

27. Antique your invites.

There is something romantic about unfolding aging paper. Give your correspondence an old-fashioned look by soaking the paper in tea and drying it completely before you write your next note.

28. Banish blisters (and canker sores).

We’ve heard you can press a hot tea bag on a fever blister or canker sore to draw out an infection.

29. Free Fido of fleas.

Sprinkle used dry tea leaves on animal bedding to reduce the chance of pests.

30. Clean up your act with tea.

Making soap? Grind up dried tea leaves and add them to your mixture for a natural colorant, exfoliant, and scent.

Recommended Tea: Eastern Chamomile Herbal Tea generates a lovely and relaxing scent.

31. Brew your decor.

Nothing is quite as beautiful as hand-tied tea blossoms, which unfurl to reveal dried flowers. Best of all, you can drink the tea! Place the blossom in a clear, tempered glass cup and add hot water to watch it turn into art. Drain the tea and add cold water. The blossom should hold its shape for a few hours up to a few days.

Recommended Tea: Discover Flowering Teas Sampler offers several varieties for interesting wedding centerpieces.

This article was first published 1/15/15. Last update was 1/9/2021