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So some background for me, I'm a bit of a tea connoisseur (snob, as my mother says it), and I generally have about 20 different types/blends of tea on hand at any given moment. I have a stash at work, and a separate stash at home, and I usually make at least 1-3 cups for myself and my wife every day. Something to note is I avoid tea bags like the plague, and my teas are all loose leaf. It makes for longer brewing times, but the results are consistently much better.
As much as I dislike bagged tea, however, it's become one of those weird things I keep on hand and put in every BOB or GHB I own for a number of reasons that I thought I'd share. I haven't seen many tea threads here, so I thought it was worth discussing, in case anyone else had ideas.
Obviously, the primary use for tea in a BOB would be to improve water taste and quality. Using a filter works to get rid of nasty stuff in water, but the taste is often not great. Plus, if you're going to boil water to purify, I figure why not drop a tea bag in for a quick steep to make it taste better. Best part about this, and something most people don't do, is you can reuse tea that's been steeped already. The flavor grows weaker, but it still works as long as it isn't spoiled or moldy. Loose leaf tea is even better for this, and I regularly resteep the same leaves up to 10 times, depending on the blend (works best with black tea).
Different types of tea (black, green, herbal, etc.) all have different nutritional and medical benefits, as well. It's a common notion that green tea is good for antioxidants, and supposedly can help fight cancer and inflammation. Many herbal teas can also do similar things, and some teas, like pine needle tea, are a decent source of vitamin C.
As far as non-food uses, there are several. The main one that comes to mind for me is tinder. Since tea is ultimately a bunch of dried leaves, it makes perfect sense to use it as tinder. Once you've exhausted the use of a tea bag for drinking and internal warming, it can be dried, cut open, and used to externally warm up. Since many of us here are all about the multi-use idea of our gear, this is a big plus.
Finally, for use at home, tea has many uses for gardening. Along with coffee grounds, the smell of tea can deter bugs and pests, or even cats. Tea bags can be composted (especially if British-made bags are made with manilla hemp), can add extra nutrients to dirt, and can help new seeds and seedlings germinate as a localized fertilizer and food source. Tea also helps with water retention and can attract worms for aeration and composting.
If you have any other uses for tea and tea bags, I'd love to hear it. All this is probably only a small sampling of what is possible, but more than enough, in my opinion, to pack a few tea bags with my gear and in my cabinets.
As much as I dislike bagged tea, however, it's become one of those weird things I keep on hand and put in every BOB or GHB I own for a number of reasons that I thought I'd share. I haven't seen many tea threads here, so I thought it was worth discussing, in case anyone else had ideas.
Obviously, the primary use for tea in a BOB would be to improve water taste and quality. Using a filter works to get rid of nasty stuff in water, but the taste is often not great. Plus, if you're going to boil water to purify, I figure why not drop a tea bag in for a quick steep to make it taste better. Best part about this, and something most people don't do, is you can reuse tea that's been steeped already. The flavor grows weaker, but it still works as long as it isn't spoiled or moldy. Loose leaf tea is even better for this, and I regularly resteep the same leaves up to 10 times, depending on the blend (works best with black tea).
Different types of tea (black, green, herbal, etc.) all have different nutritional and medical benefits, as well. It's a common notion that green tea is good for antioxidants, and supposedly can help fight cancer and inflammation. Many herbal teas can also do similar things, and some teas, like pine needle tea, are a decent source of vitamin C.
As far as non-food uses, there are several. The main one that comes to mind for me is tinder. Since tea is ultimately a bunch of dried leaves, it makes perfect sense to use it as tinder. Once you've exhausted the use of a tea bag for drinking and internal warming, it can be dried, cut open, and used to externally warm up. Since many of us here are all about the multi-use idea of our gear, this is a big plus.
Finally, for use at home, tea has many uses for gardening. Along with coffee grounds, the smell of tea can deter bugs and pests, or even cats. Tea bags can be composted (especially if British-made bags are made with manilla hemp), can add extra nutrients to dirt, and can help new seeds and seedlings germinate as a localized fertilizer and food source. Tea also helps with water retention and can attract worms for aeration and composting.
If you have any other uses for tea and tea bags, I'd love to hear it. All this is probably only a small sampling of what is possible, but more than enough, in my opinion, to pack a few tea bags with my gear and in my cabinets.
