Here at Magic Tea Headquarters we always say that tea is so much more then just a drink! We have listed some of our top tips for using your old tea leaves. Our magic tea leaves have magical powers even after being brewed. 

There are dozens of ways to use the leftover tea you did not particularly enjoy or that lost its freshness – for cleaning, cooking, décor and beauty. Something to note, you will get the best results with unused tea leaves, but those you already brewed can still offer a lot as well. Tea leaves need boiling water and a very long steeping time to release all nutrients. Because we usually steep tea for only 2-5 minutes, they will always be some nutrients left in the leaf. 

1. Wardrobe freshener

Use dry tea leaves mixed with a spoon of dried lavender flowers as a wardrobe freshener. Green tea is a great natural odour neutraliser, and lavender will keep the moths away. Always use only fully dried tea leaves. Once you use them, place them on the paper towel and dry on natural sunlight. Spread the leaves evenly or they might become mouldy.

2. Shoe freshener

Use pure tea leaves to remove the odours from smelly feet. Put dry fresh green tea leaves in a small filter before placing them in your shoes. Leave them in for 24 hours and remove before putting the shoes on.

3. Fridge freshener

You can use tea leaves for neutralising fridge odours. Put them in an open container and place on the middle fridge shelf.

4. Neutralising oven odours

After using the oven, place the wet used green tea leaves on a tray and put it in the oven. Make sure the oven is warm and not hot.

5. Cleaning windows

Black tea doesn’t only help us shine in the morning, it can make windows shine too! Use about 3 grams of new or 10 grams of used black tea leaves per litre of water. Steep for 20 minutes and let it cool down to room temperature. Soak the cleaning cloth, drain the excess tea and clean the windows.

6. Dying clothes

You can dye white cotton, silk or linen shirts, dresses or trousers with black tea. Add at least 3-5 grams of used tea leaves per every 200 ml of water. Put water in a large pan and bring to a boil. Make sure you have enough water to cover the item you want to dye. Steep tea leaves for at least 30 minutes. Some black teas will be more yellow, while others are more red. Strain the leaves and soak the clean wet item overnight. For orange and reddish notes, rooibos may be a good option too. Unused tea will give more intense colour than used tea leaves, so keep that in mind when deciding on colour.

7. Compost

Tea leaves can be your plant’s best friend. You can use tea leaves as a compost for indoor and outdoor plants. Be careful though. Unless you are making a real compost and mixing it with soil, damp tea leaves left on the surface will easily become mouldy.

8. Watering plants

Just when you think your brewing session is over, making one more for the plants. Even though the leaves might not have enough flavour in them, they can still give nutrients to plants. Same goes for the cup of tea you forgot to drink and it changed both the colour and flavour. Instead of pouring it down the drainage, use them for watering plants. Make sure infusion reached the room temperature before watering the plants. Always use only cold tea. Use spray bottle to spray it on the leaves.

9. Eye mask

Green and white tea leaves can be used for freshening up tired eyes. Catechins in tea have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties and may help when used topically as well. Fill the cotton tea bags with tea leaves and shortly soak them in hot or warm water. Let them cool down until they are comfortably warm and place over eyes. Keep for 5-10 minutes. For a cooler effect, brew the tea in the usual way, but with using less water, place it in a fridge for a couple of hours, Soak cotton pads in cold tea and place over your eyes.

10. Feet bath

Green tea is not only good for deodorising stinky shoes, it may be used as a foot bath for stinky feet too. Catechins in green tea have antibacterial, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties and may help with neutralising odours and fighting bacteria. Prepare a foot bath with steeping about 5 grams of green tea in hot water, let is steep for 20-30 minutes or until the water is cool enough for soaking feet. Remove the cotton tea filters.

Here at Magic Tea Headquarters we are going to try even harder to help save our planet so these awesome tips will be so helpful!

Share a pic on instagram ad tag us if you use any of the tips.

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