The birds are chirping, the woodland creatures are running about the yard, and crocuses and daffodils are making their debut in the world. Blossom Dearie is singing about spring and Easter is right around the corner. Many of us are beginning to prepare for gathering with friends and family and celebrating this time of new life!
Here at Upton Tea Imports, we are particularly egg-cited for spring! Pun intended! Not only is this the best time of year to celebrate floral flavors and earthy aromas but it's also a wonderful time to play around with your used loose tea leaves and put them to good use. Dyeing Easter eggs is an advantageous way to use up that extra leaf potential.
So, why eggs? And why do we dye them?
The egg is an ancient symbol of new beginnings and has been an anticipated Easter tradition, whether hunting for it, eating it, or decorating it. The tradition of decorating eggs dates all the way back to medieval times.
During the time of Lent, the 6-week period of Christian religious observance leading up to Easter, the medieval church forbade the enjoyment of eggs. Come Easter morning, they were in hot pursuit by locals. During this era, eggs were so valued that they were also used monetarily; ah yes, a fair bartering trade the egg was.
We have King Edward I of England to thank for making egg dyeing popular. During the year 1290, King Edward, in his generosity, decided to treat his subjects to this delicacy and bought four hundred and fifty eggs, a great sign of wealth. These royal eggs were dyed with lavish colors and adorned with gold leaf, a signature of the King’s gift.
The tradition of gifting beautiful ornate eggs continued throughout history. We’ve all heard of beautifully jeweled Fabergé eggs and elaborately decorated Ukrainian Pysanky eggs. In 1870, the chocolate egg emerged during the Victorian era. In present time, most of us have savored the delicious flavor of the Cadbury egg and, if you haven’t, treat yourself and pair it with our TA40: TIPPY ORTHODOX GFOP ASSAM. This perfect pairing is well worth it.
Now that we are empowered with the fascinating history of dyeing Easter eggs, let's get started with decorating our own eggs using tea leaves!
What you will need:
Teas (and their dye colors):
- BH51: CHAMOMILE ORGANIC- pastel yellow
- BH100: TURMERIC LEMON APPLE HERBAL BLEND ORGANIC- darker yellow
- BH60: HIBISCUS FLOWERS, COARSE CUT- greyish blue
- TJ86: CULINARY MATCHA ORGANIC- green eggs (ham is optional 😊)
- BA20: SOUTH AFRICAN ROOIBOS SUPERIOR ORGANIC- orange
- TA200: MANGALAM ESTATE GOF ASSAM- earthen red
- NF45: CAPE COD CRANBERRY FRUIT TEA- pink
Kitchen staples:
- 1 TSP cream of tartar
- 1 TSP white vinegar
Equipment:
- Cups for long-term steeping - these cups should be durable, preferably glass or porcelain. If you don’t have glass cups, we recommend using our ACG4: PAVINA DOUBLE WALL GLASS CUPS, 12 OZ. (SET OF 2). These borosilicate glass cups are very durable. You will need one cup per color.
Directions:
There are two ways to do this. First, you can enjoy a delicious cup of tea and reserve your wet leaves to use for dyeing the eggs. Or, you can jump right into the dyeing process and start with fresh leaves for a bolder look.
A helpful tip to remember before you start is to make sure you hard boil your eggs! Once your eggs are cooked and cooled, follow these steps.
- Line up your cups, making sure that you have one cup for each color. You can choose to do as many or as little as you would like.
- Place your loose tea leaves in each cup and pour boiling water (212°F or 100°C) directly over the leaves. For enhanced color, don’t remove the leaves after the usual steeping time.
- Add 1 TSP of cream of tartar to each cup and stir.
- Add 1 TSP of white vinegar to each cup and stir.
- Add an egg (hard boiled) to each cup and leave overnight.
- The next morning, remove the eggs.
You should now have a colorful array of Easter eggs!
To take it up to the next artistic level, you can use a wax crayon to draw designs on the eggs. Using twine, tie a sprig of pretty herbs to your eggs for a primitive touch.
However you choose to decorate your eggs, we know the Easter Bunny will be hopping your way! And if you want to impress the Easter Bunny, when you leave out carrots for him, make sure he also has a nice cuppa waiting. We recommend our BH11: GINGER CARROT BEETROOT HERBAL BLEND ORGANIC blend.
Happy Easter and spring festivities to you from all of us here at Upton Tea Imports!
References:
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/pr-opinion/the-unexpected-history-of-easter-eggs