The primary use of tea leaves is as a beverage, an excellent drink that combines color, aroma, and flavor. Used tea leaves also have high utility value. Some of their uses are introduced below:
1. Making tea eggs. Some use steeped tea leaves, while others use tea dust. Black tea is the best choice. It is inexpensive and produces tea eggs with a rich color and fragrant taste. The key is to first boil the eggs until cooked, gently crack the shells, then add the tea leaves to the water and continue boiling to allow the flavor to penetrate.
2. Making a tea pillow. Don't discard used tea leaves. Spread them on a wooden board to dry, and accumulate them to use as pillow filling. It is said that because tea has a cooling nature, a tea pillow can refresh the mind, enhance alertness, and improve thinking ability.
3. Repelling mosquitoes. Dry the used tea leaves and burn them at dusk in the summer to repel mosquitoes, with the same effect as mosquito coils, and it is absolutely harmless to the human body.
4. Helping flowers and plants grow and reproduce. Steeped tea leaves still contain nutrients such as inorganic salts and carbohydrates. Piling them in a flower bed or pot can aid the development and reproduction of plants.
5. Sterilizing and treating athlete's foot. Tea contains a large amount of tannic acid, which has a strong sterilizing effect, especially against the filamentous fungi that cause athlete's foot. Therefore, people with athlete's foot can soak their feet in a strong tea decoction every night, and the condition will heal over time without specific treatment. However, this requires persistence, as significant results will not be seen in a short time. It is best to use green tea, as the fermentation process of black tea significantly reduces its tannic acid content.
6. Eliminating bad breath. Tea has a strong astringent effect. Keeping tea leaves in the mouth from time to time can eliminate bad breath. Gargling with strong tea has the same effect. If you don't like drinking tea, you can steep the leaves first and then hold them in your mouth to reduce the bitterness, which also has a certain effect.
7. Hair care. Tea water can remove dirt and grease, so after washing your hair, rinsing it with tea water can make it black, soft, and shiny. Moreover, tea water contains no chemicals and will not damage your hair or skin.
8. Washing silk clothing. Silk clothing is most afraid of chemical detergents. If you use water boiled with steeped tea leaves to wash silk clothes, it can maintain the original color and brightness, making them look like new. It has the same effect on washing nylon fiber clothing.
9. Used tea leaves can be used to wipe and clean mirrors, glass windows and doors, furniture, plastic laminate, muddy leather shoes, and dark-colored clothes to remove stains.
10. To remove fishy odors from containers, place used tea leaves in them and boil for a few minutes to deodorize.