PamDZ said

Eating the Contents of a Brewed Herbal/Fruit Tea

Does anyone ever feel wasteful when dumping out a nice tea-ball full of flowery and fruity herbs. Just had some Bilberry Rooibos and after brewing(I just let my tea-ball in the whole time as I drank until I finished)was going to empty my tea ball and make some Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong. As I dumped the contents out all these plump berries and flowers had rehydrated and I just feel so wasteful to dump, so I am eating them-I am sure it benefits the health.

But, are there any useful suggestions for what to do with left over herbs/fruit from herbal teas?

13 Replies
PamDZ said

Maybe save contents to use in Quick Breads or Hot Cereals or Rice?

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Yeah, that would be good for oatmeal.

Amazing idea. Can’t believe i never thought about that. Granted I rarely drink fruity herbals but still!

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Probably depends on the herbs used…I imagine some would be fine to eat and some maybe not?

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Not to be a tea snob but consider getting a gaiwan, a basket infuser, or a gravity infuser so your tieguanyin can expand. Tea balls are not big enough for oolong and the tea cannot fully expand.
An example of a gaiwan is http://zentealife.com/index.php/teaware/teawares-region/china/gaiwan-mugs-cups/gaiwan-life.html

PamDZ said

Yes I did just brew a cup of Iron Goddess of Mercy and seems like the Oolong could have expanded way more-Didn’t realize how big Oolong was-So with a Gaiwan do you brew it in there, then pour into cup, and do you have to dilute it, because they look pretty small, I drink HUGE cups of tea?

Lala said

A gaiwan is a traditional way to drink tea. Like you, PamDZ, I generally drink large mugs of tea so I find using a large basket infuser works best for me. I also prefer to do longer steeps versus several short steeps. It really just depends on your preference. There are a few threads on here that discuss how to use a gaiwan.

CREAM said

I know some tea snobs look down on this but I use a french press to brew my tea in sometimes. I only use it for tea and it works great. The leaves can get as big as they want because they are swimming in the water freely while steeping and aren’t in a basket. It has a gap at the bottom when you plunge so the tea leaves dont get squished either. You can get them in all sizes too. I have a 4 cup or 16oz but I know they come in much bigger sizes as well. Just another option to think about.

Lala said

I also sometimes use a french press, and I have a french press travel mug that is great for when you can’t remove the tea when you are done steeping.

I love gravity infusers! Very easy to use and no mess! The prices seem to range around $17 to $22 or so.
The tea pours out the bottom. You can watch your tea steep – and teh leaves remain in the steeper if you want to resteep.
http://www.steepcityteas.com/products/gravity-infuser
http://www.davidstea.com/the-steeper?&TF=384C2498270F&DEID=
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html?SID=3591d75e7d469733a2093e5bb972b271

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Lala said

For the most part, there would be no problem in eating herbals or in real tea leaves. I think you just have to be careful about the caffeine part of tea leaves. Most herbals are made from dried fruits and spices anyway.

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tea leaf rice on leftover green or oolongs leaves? http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/green-tea-leaf-rice-recipe/

I snack on big fruit chunks all the time. Though, I’d watch out on eating tea leaves. I ate my gyokuro and went crazy hyper for an hour.
Then I caught my roommate chowing down on his jasmine pearl tea leaves then he got crazy energy and stayed up till like 5am. Though, I think he enjoyed it.

Once it’s been steeped, gyokuro tastes like spinach for me.

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