How to Cook With Tea

We drink tea for pleasure, for its health benefits, or simply to wake up. Why not cook with it? “Think of tea like a spice or a spice blend,” says Gina Amador, former minister of creativity for The Republic of Tea in Larkspur, Calif., who often cooks with brewed tea to infuse her food with more flavor.

Black teas offer bold, malty flavors and plenty of tenderizing tannins. A smoky lapsang souchong can ­create a rich sauce: Combine it with an acid, like red-wine vinegar, and use it to deglaze a pan, then add butter and aromatics.

Amador also recommends cooking with chai, with its warming spices — think cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves, or black pepper. “Make a concentrate,” she says. “It’s amazing in barbecue sauce and anywhere you use vanilla, like shortbread.” (Try our recipe for Chai Tea Concentrate.)

Oolong’s floral undertones are great for poaching fish and chicken — or adding savory depth to a veggie soup. Sweet, nutty African rooibos tea makes a fine cooking liquid for quick grains, like couscous and quinoa.

Tea can also give other liquids a boost. Amador suggests steeping bags of chai in chicken broth for soup; Earl Grey tea in gin for a citrusy bergamot-infused martini; or hibiscus tea in vinegar — those bold berry notes will be great anywhere you need some zing.

(Try one of these seven tea recipes to make teatime more delicious.)