International Tea Day: How To Incorporate Dehydrated

Tea Leaves

Into Dishes

Quick Summary

Cooking with tea leaves is not a new concept, it is an ancient practice with roots in Chinese cuisine that has found relevance in today’s world as experimentation is encouraged with what are staples in one’s pantry. It’s worth revising this International Tea Day, especially the two marked varieties. The dried, brown-black leaves inside a CTC chai pack will result in a different flavour profile as compared to dehydrated tea leaves that are greenish and still grassy in their taste.

Deep Dive

Depending on the tea leaves you use, it can be used to smoke fish and meats to infuse chickpea gravies, adding another layer of flavour to dessert creams, and seasoning butters. As for their flavour profile, tea leaves add tannins, earthiness, and a nuanced flavour which is stronger than what liquid tea would add. The most important distinction you should know before cooking with tea leaves is between dried tea leaves and dehydrated ones.

Dried tea leaves

The black, fully oxidised leaves found in blends like Assam CTC tea and Darjeeling black tea come in tea bags or loose-leaf breakfast blends. These tea leaves are subject to full oxidation, rolling, and drying during processing. They are dark brown to black in colour, brittle, and have a deep, malty flavour, courtesy of the tannins in the tea. When used in cooking, they add more depth.

Dehydrated tea leaves

By contrast, dehydrated tea leaves are made with freshly harvested tea leaves, typically green, white, or lightly oxidised oolong varieties, that have had their moisture removed through controlled dehydration either in a food dehydrator or a low-temperature oven (55-75°C). These leaves have a greenish hue with a grassy, vegetal, and subtly sweet flavour note, that the full-oxidation process destroys. It is perfect for dishes that have delicate flavour like desserts.

Why Use Tea Leaves in Cooking at All?

This International Tea Day, it is worth exploring tea leaves in cooking, as it is one of the most underutilised ingredients in the kitchen, which is surprising given how complex their flavour can be. Beyond the cup, tea leaves bring several qualities to food:

• Tannins are naturally occurring polyphenols that add an astringency and hold sauces and braises, much as red wine does in a French daube.

• Umami is added by particularly aged or roasted teas like hojicha or pu-erh, which carry earthy, almost meat-like savoriness.

• Aromatic oils, especially in jasmine, Earl Grey, and lapsang souchong, carry distinctive floral, citrus, or smoky top notes.

• Colour is more for black teas, which impart an amber-to-mahogany hue to braises, stocks, and gravies. Matcha and sencha yield vivid green in baked goods.

• Antioxidants in tea might disappear if exposed to high heat, so to make sure tea’s meaningful polyphenol content survives, go up to moderate heat.

The International Tea Day conversation almost always focuses on tea as a beverage. The culinary applications, however, are far broader and arguably just as interesting.

How to Smoke Fish and Meat using Tea Leaves

Tea smoking is among the oldest examples of using tea in cooking in the world. The iconic tea-smoked duck remains one of the most popular dishes in Chinese cuisine, with a smoking mix of tea leaves mixed with uncooked rice and sugar (to help smoke penetrate the protein) placed in the base of a foil-lined wok. Then there is a wire rack above it, and the duck is placed on the rack over medium heat, to infuse it with the tea.

Basic tea-smoking setup:

• Line the bottom of a heavy wok with aluminium foil

• Spread the smoking mixture evenly on the foil

• Place a wire rack approximately 5 cm above the mixture

• Set the wok over medium heat; when smoke begins to rise, place protein on the rack

• Fold the foil edges up and cover with a lid to trap the smoke

• Cook for 7–12 minutes depending on thickness, then rest

Smoking mixture base ratio:

• 1 part uncooked white rice

• 1 part loose-leaf tea

• 1 part brown sugar or raw sugar

Choosing your tea for smoking:

The type of tea you use defines the aromatic personality of the dish:

• Jasmine green tea imparts delicate, floral notes; pairs beautifully with white fish like cod or halibut, where it won't overpower

• Lapsang Souchong (pine-smoked black tea from Fujian, China) is a deeply smoky and intense; pairs best with rich, fatty fish like sablefish or duck where the strong profile finds balance

• Earl Grey’s bergamot oil adds a citrusy, almost perfumed smokiness; works well with salmon or prawns

• Pu-erh is another Chinese tea renowned for its earthy, forest-floor aroma; excellent for duck legs, lamb, and pork ribs

• Hojicha (roasted Japanese green tea) has a nutty, lightly roasted aroma; pairs well with chicken thighs and firm-fleshed fish

Tea smoking also works for dairy: cold-smoking cheese and butter with tea leaves using a handheld smoking gun produces ingredient-level flavour transformations without any cooking.

Infusing Tea Leaves into Gravies and Braises

The East knows how to use tea in their cooking, especially China, but in India, it still remains an under-explored domain. So, this International Tea Day, this is one area you can experiment with – infusing tea leaves into gravies and braised dishes. You can start with your favourite chai blend, preferably black CTC tea (keeping in mind its flavour profile) and pair it with an appropriate dish. Like you can spruce up your chana masala, rajma masala, dal makhani or rich chicken gravy with a black tea infusion.

Strongly brewed black tea (double or triple strength) contributes two things simultaneously: a dark mahogany colour that deepens the colours that can be spotted visually (eating with the eyes before your taste buds) that matches the intensity of flavours in either a chole or rajma gravy. The tea’s subtle tannic flavour rounds out the acidity of tomatoes.

Using tea in a chickpea gravy:

1. Brew 2 tablespoons of loose-leaf black tea in 1 cup of boiling water for 5-7 minutes to make a very strong concentrate.

2. Strain and add the liquid to your onion-tomato base after it has cooked down.

3. Add soaked, boiled chickpeas and continue cooking; the colour will deepen.

4. The tannins in the tea might help the chickpeas retain their shape.

Using tea for braises

For braises like pork belly, lamb shanks, and short ribs, whole tea leaves can be added directly to the braising liquid alongside aromatics like ginger, garlic, onions and herbs. Oolong and pu-erh both work particularly well here, because of their food-compatible flavours and end up adding complexity. Make sure to strain before using.

Infusing Tea Leaves into Gravies and Braises

The East knows how to use tea in their cooking, especially China, but in India, it still remains an under-explored domain. So, this International Tea Day, this is one area you can experiment with – infusing tea leaves into gravies and braised dishes. You can start with your favourite chai blend, preferably black CTC tea (keeping in mind its flavour profile) and pair it with an appropriate dish. Like you can spruce up your chana masala, rajma masala, dal makhani or rich chicken gravy with a black tea infusion.

Strongly brewed black tea (double or triple strength) contributes two things simultaneously: a dark mahogany colour that deepens the colours that can be spotted visually (eating with the eyes before your taste buds) that matches the intensity of flavours in either a chole or rajma gravy. The tea’s subtle tannic flavour rounds out the acidity of tomatoes.

Using tea in a chickpea gravy:

1. Brew 2 tablespoons of loose-leaf black tea in 1 cup of boiling water for 5-7 minutes to make a very strong concentrate.

2. Strain and add the liquid to your onion-tomato base after it has cooked down.

3. Add soaked, boiled chickpeas and continue cooking; the colour will deepen.

4. The tannins in the tea might help the chickpeas retain their shape.

Using tea for braises

For braises like pork belly, lamb shanks, and short ribs, whole tea leaves can be added directly to the braising liquid alongside aromatics like ginger, garlic, onions and herbs. Oolong and pu-erh both work particularly well here, because of their food-compatible flavours and end up adding complexity. Make sure to strain before using.

Using Dehydrated Tea Leaves in Baked Goods and Desserts

This is where the distinction between dried black tea and dehydrated green tea matters most acutely. For baked goods, you want leaves that will contribute flavour without turning overwhelmingly bitter. This is where dehydrated tea leaves come in.

Techniques for incorporating tea leaves into baking:

• Tea-infused butter: Melt butter over low heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of loose-leaf tea, steep off heat for 4-5 minutes, then strain. The butter will carry the tea's aromatic compounds and work in any recipe that calls for melted butter.

• Tea-infused cream: Heat heavy cream to a simmer, steep loose-leaf tea for 8-10 minutes, then strain. This is perfect as the foundation for Earl Grey crème brûlée, panna cotta, ice cream, and pastry cream for éclairs.

• Ground dehydrated tea as a spice: Dehydrated green tea leaves (or hojicha) can be ground to a fine powder and used as you would matcha tea. Use it in macaron shells, cake batters, or as a dusting over finished desserts. Unlike matcha, which is shade-grown and finely milled commercially, home-dehydrated ground tea retains more texture.

• Whole leaves in macaron shells: For tea macarons, powdered dehydrated or dried tea leaves can be folded directly into the almond-flour mixture.

Tea Leaves as a Seasoning and Finishing Touch

Dehydrated tea leaves can be used as a dry seasoning, ground with salt to make a tea-salt blend (excellent over grilled fish or vegetables), mixed into a rub for meats, or crumbled over a finished dish as a garnish, like the way one might use the Japanese furikake. In fact, this concept does exist in Japan with furikake often incorporating dried green tea leaves alongside sesame seeds, nori, and dried fish. There’s also something called ochazuke, that uses tea in a main dish. It features rice poured over with hot green tea and eaten with pickles, fish, and seaweed.

Tea-salt blends to try

• Lapsang Souchong + sea salt + black pepper: smoky finishing salt for steaks and grilled salmon

• Earl Grey + flaked sea salt + dried lemon zest: citrus-floral salt for white fish, scallops, or salads

• Hojicha + sea salt + toasted sesame: nutty finishing blend for rice dishes, tofu, and vegetables

• Darjeeling + flaky salt: delicate seasoning for soft cheeses, butter, and scrambled eggs

Practical Tips for Using Tea in The Kitchen

• Poor-quality tea bags contain ‘dust and fannings’, which are the lowest grade of broken tea, which turn astringent and harsh when cooked. Use whole loose-leaf tea for cooking.

• Cooking extracts tea's tannins aggressively. Keep infusion times shorter than you think, and taste as you go.

• Butter and cream extract aromatic compounds from tea far more efficiently than water, which is why tea-infused fat is the preferred medium for baking anything, especially desserts.

• Delicate white fish cannot hold up to Lapsang Souchong's smoke; rich, fatty cuts can. Think of tea like a wine pairing – strong tea should be used in rich dishes, and light ones for mild dishes.

• Dehydrate your own green tea leaves at home by spreading fresh or lightly processed green tea leaves on a baking tray and placing them in an oven at 60°C for 1.5-2 hours. Cool completely before storing in an airtight jar.

International Tea Day with Underrated Gems

Make celebrating International Tea Day fun and something to look forward to by using tea in your cooking. Brew it, crush it or add whole tea leaves into your favourite dish, with caution, and be surprised by the results. From meaty dishes smoked with tea to desserts tinged with a herbal brew, there are many applications.