Use for Spent Leaves

by **needaTEAcher** » Oct 15th, '11, 02:15

Use for Spent Leaves

by needaTEAcher » Oct 15th, '11, 02:15

OK, here is an odd one. Does anyone have anything that they do with spent leaves? I have only ever heard composting, and occasionally cooking.

Sometimes they are just so pretty that I hate to see them go in the trash! Just today I chewed/sucked on a spent Gao Shan for 20 minutes (while teaching!) and although bitter, it was so so tasty.

Any ideas?

by **wyardley** » Oct 15th, '11, 13:42

Re: Use for Spend Leaves

by wyardley » Oct 15th, '11, 13:42

viewtopic.php?p=97216
viewtopic.php?t=7722

Though, after making my pillow, I have to say that buckwheat is more comfortable.

by **iannon** » Oct 15th, '11, 19:00

Re: Use for Spend Leaves

by iannon » Oct 15th, '11, 19:00

I feed them to my Chickens

by **Chimpie** » Oct 16th, '11, 10:59

Re: Use for Spend Leaves

by Chimpie » Oct 16th, '11, 10:59

I pop mine to the compost pile and let them return to the earth...

Worms love tea nearly as much as me :lol:

by **needaTEAcher** » Oct 16th, '11, 11:57

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by needaTEAcher » Oct 16th, '11, 11:57

I visited a lovely lady today (one of my TEAchers) who told me to eat them, and then we ate a bunch of different kinds. Some were bitter, some were a little sweet, all were satisfying. Very nice!

by **IPT** » Oct 16th, '11, 12:40

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by IPT » Oct 16th, '11, 12:40

I use mine as compost too around my miniature trees on my balcony which tend to dry out too quickly. The thick layer of tea leaves helps keep the soil moist longer.

I have been talking to a woman who makes Western raku pottery about using them as combustibles for bud vases. I think the different shapes would make some really cool patterns.

Website · by **debunix** » Oct 16th, '11, 12:44

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by debunix » Oct 16th, '11, 12:44

IPT wrote:I have been talking to a woman who makes Western raku pottery about using them as combustibles for bud vases. I think the different shapes would make some really cool patterns.

Or setting them around some bizen teawares, so that instead of lines of straw, you'd have sprays of tea leaves and buds?

I just feed mine to the worm bin. They seem to love them. It's one thing that disappears quickly without a trace, unlike the melon rinds or corn cobs that sometimes take quite a while.

by **entropyembrace** » Oct 16th, '11, 17:11

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by entropyembrace » Oct 16th, '11, 17:11

I just compost mine....they go into a big pile in the corner of the vegetable garden with all the other vegetable scraps and dead plants from the garden itself.

by **FlyedPiper** » Oct 16th, '11, 22:58

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by FlyedPiper » Oct 16th, '11, 22:58

I throw them into my driveway at night for the opposums. They seem to dig it. The pile of that day's spent tea sessions is always gone in the morning.

I have the healthiest vermin in the neighborhood!

by **FlyedPiper** » Oct 16th, '11, 23:03

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by FlyedPiper » Oct 16th, '11, 23:03

needaTEAcher wrote:I visited a lovely lady today (one of my TEAchers) who told me to eat them, and then we ate a bunch of different kinds. Some were bitter, some were a little sweet, all were satisfying. Very nice!

I've heard spent gyokuro leaves are quite good. I will be trying that on my next batch of gyo. The one I'm currently working on is from Shizuoka, and while I'm not worried about drinking it, I'm a little reluctant to eat the leaves.

by **entropyembrace** » Oct 17th, '11, 02:08

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by entropyembrace » Oct 17th, '11, 02:08

FlyedPiper wrote:
needaTEAcher wrote:I visited a lovely lady today (one of my TEAchers) who told me to eat them, and then we ate a bunch of different kinds. Some were bitter, some were a little sweet, all were satisfying. Very nice!

I've heard spent gyokuro leaves are quite good. I will be trying that on my next batch of gyo. The one I'm currently working on is from Shizuoka, and while I'm not worried about drinking it, I'm a little reluctant to eat the leaves.

Spent gyo leaves tasted awfully bland to me when I tried them...but they were really spent...I think I already drank all the tasty compounds.

by **DarkenedSun** » Oct 17th, '11, 11:45

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by DarkenedSun » Oct 17th, '11, 11:45

I eat some of my leaves. They all taste nice to me.

The ones I don't eat go into the garden.

by **Firemoss** » Oct 17th, '11, 13:31

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by Firemoss » Oct 17th, '11, 13:31

Hey, needateacher. I dehydrate the pure tea spent leaves and use them in several variations of hand-made paper creation. I use this paper for many art projects. But one of my favourites is to use the paper to cover recycled tea tins that I then fill with herbal 'teas' I've foraged (labrador tea, rose hip, mossberry, cranberry, etc). I give these tins as gifts.
I also use them once in a while as decoration on masks I make.
If I use tisanes or genmaicha or the like, I compost them after use.
I've never tried eating them as others have...that's up next. :mrgreen:

by **needaTEAcher** » Oct 19th, '11, 01:25

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by needaTEAcher » Oct 19th, '11, 01:25

How do you dehydrate them? My fiance loves to make collages, and the tea tin idea is great!

by **wyardley** » Oct 19th, '11, 12:15

Re: Use for Spent Leaves

by wyardley » Oct 19th, '11, 12:15

You can just spread them on a plate in a thin layer, and they'll dry out on their own.