Tea-dyed Eggs
Whether it be an Easter tradition, or an enjoyable craft exploration, tea-dyeing eggs is a simple and safe activity everyone can enjoy.
You may be familiar with food-colouring or fresh food-dyeing techniques, but have you ever tried using tea leaves? Tea is ideal for those not wanting to use a pot of simmering water for the dyeing process, or those who would prefer to try a chemical-free, no food waste, method.
Tea-dyeing eggs creates uniquely beautiful, earthy tones, in a watercolour-like effect. If you prefer a more vibrant colour, simply repeat the method until you have achieved the desired result. Alum, a common binder used in dyeing fabric, can also be added to when dyeing with tea, to generate deeper and more rich colours. Alum is safe and edible, also used in pickling, baking soda, and some medicines. Our method below does not include Alum, preferring to keep our technique to ingredients which most people have readily available within the home already.
The resulting colours of dyeing with tea will depend upon which tea-base you use to steep the eggs in, and starting colour of the eggshell. Typically, upon a white-tone eggshell: Rooibos will yield a burnt orange tone; lavender, a pale grassy green; Chamomile will give yellow, as will Calendula, but more pale; Hibiscus produces varying shades of green, blue and purple; and black tea typically results in a reddish-brown.
Several of our signature range personalitea’s include these tea ingredients, and so can be used for egg dyeing, but considering the tea used in this activity is discouraged to consume afterwards (vinegar tea anyone…not for me, thank you!), we suggest you keep your Personalitea for the enjoyment of drinking, and use single-ingredient blends available elsewhere.
That being said, here is how you can tea-dye eggs!
You will need (for one colour/tea):
4 hard-boiled eggs (cooked and cooled prior to starting this activity)
1 tablespoon of loose tea leaves
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 cups of just-boiled water
What to do:
Place the loose tea into a vessel (shaped so the eggs will be submerged), and pour the water over the leaves.
Allow the tea to steep, then cool to room temperature. There is no need to strain the tea leaves.
Add the white vinegar with a stir.
Gently lower the hard-boiled eggs into to the vessel of steeped tea, then place it in the refrigerator. Let this sit overnight, or at least a minimum of 6 hours.
Remove the eggs from the vessel using a slotted spoon, and pat the eggs dry with paper towel.
Note that the tea-dyed eggs are safe to consume, provided they are kept within the advised temperature-safe range for food (5 degrees Celsius or colder, and 60 degrees Celsius or hotter).
Note too, that despite what we said above, we got curious…the eggs pictured were dyed with our personalitea, Exhilarate. This tea contains rooibos, elderberries, rose petals, calendula, and vanilla bean, hence the golden-orange colour.
References:
https://theeclectickitchen.com/2019/04/17/vibrant-natural-tea-dyed-easter-eggs-so-easy/
https://the.republicoftea.com/tea-recipes/recipes-for-spring/tea-dyed-easter-eggs/