Chances are you’ve heard quite a bit about the health benefits of drinking tea—the polyphenols, the flavonoids, the antioxidants, the tannins…and so on.

You get it. Drinking tea is good for you.

But how much tea can one person actually drink in a day?

Well, you may not realize that you can get health benefits from eating tea, too—or more precisely, by using tea leaves in your cooking.

In fact, there are simple and tasty ways to incorporate tea leaves into meals, we learned recently from Robert Wemischner, a Los Angeles–based pastry chef and the coauthor of Cooking with Tea.

TEA TIME!

Your first question might be, “Do you mean that I should actually eat tea leaves?” Yes, said Chef Wemischner. Though that might seem out of the ordinary, he said it’s perfectly safe and also quite healthy.

Your second question might be, “What would putting tea leaves in food do to the taste and enjoyment of the food?” Well, that depends on your particular taste buds and which type of tea you use, but Chef Wemischner said that most people love the extra flavor that tea provides.

No matter which kind of tea leaves you use, you’ll get the zest and the nutrients—without any added calories, sodium, sugar or fat. You can choose the leaf based on the type of dish and taste you’re going for—and experiment until you find just the right combination.

Ready to get started?

TEA-LICIOUS RECIPE IDEAS

Buy dried tea leaves (fresh are rare) online (Chef Wemischner recommends UptonTea.com) or at a health-food store, Asian market or large grocery store. If you shop for tea leaves in person, Chef Wemischner advised that, whenever possible, check their aroma. If it’s weak, the flavor will be weak, too—so buy only tea leaves that smell robust. Most types cost around $2 an ounce, although some less common types, such as premium green tea, can run $17 or more. If you have tea bags, you also can just cut the bags open and use those tea leaves.

Here are a few easy, yummy ways to use tea in your cooking…

  1. Use tea leaves in a rub. Grind one tablespoon of tea leaves in an electric coffee grinder or spice mill until they become a fine powder. (Make sure it’s not a grinder that has been used to grind coffee, because the aroma and the flavor of the coffee will linger and overwhelm the tea aroma and flavor.) Add the powder to one tablespoon of another type of flavoring, and then rub it onto one serving of raw fish, poultry or meat with your hands. Let stand for 10 minutes before cooking. For example, try lapsang souchong tea with freshly grated orange peel on turkey or salmon…green tea with roasted sesame seeds on shrimp or scallops…black tea with brown sugar on beef brisket…or Earl Grey tea with salt and pepper on duck.
  2. Use tea leaves in a marinade. Add one tablespoon of tea leaves, ground as above, to eight ounces of a marinade. Marinate one serving of fish, poultry or meat in the mixture for 30 minutes before grilling or sautéing. Try oolong tea with either a soy-based marinade or an herbal-lemon-pepper marinade on shrimp or scallops…or Earl Grey tea with an orange juice-based marinade on chicken…or green tea with chive-honey-ginger-garlic blend on pork.

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