Tea is huge now. Even though as a kid I never enjoyed tea, I am now a big fan of it. And green tea is generally what I prefer, though, come winters, I don’t mind a cup of masala chai to warm my body.
A massive amount of tea is consumed each and every day in all corners of the world. Forget coffee — its production may be greater, but as a Springer study found three cups of tea are drunk for every cup of coffee, thus tea seems to be the preferred choice over a cup of java.
Not convinced? Consider this: according to a recently published infographic, 31% of people in the UK drink five or more cups of tea a day, with the large majority of tea drinkers having their first cup at the age of 5. That’s not all — the UK isn’t even among the top 3 tea-consuming countries in the world, as China, Turkey and Ireland are the biggest tea lovers in the world. And here I thought Indians would have made the top list. My family is big on tea and their day doesn’t begin if they haven’t sipped on at least two cups of tea before breakfast. The count is even more when the whole family is together.
While I generally drink my tea, lately I have seen recipes where tea isn’t just used as a beverage. Tea leaves themselves can be used for spice rubs on meat and poultry. Steep them in hot water and you have a brew for everything from soups and grain dishes to sauces and marinades.
Some people even swear by green tea facials, and many people have incorporated the leaves into moisturizing products by extracting its medicinal properties. Other than soothing sunburn and delaying the signs of aging, a simple green tea bag can even help treat nasty bug bites! I use my used cold tea bags to combat puffy eyes and it always works.
I am still experimenting with recipes using tea but for today, though, I will share some I found interesting and that you can try at home.
