349159 Thu Dec 07 19:45:26 -0800 2006 28 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2079298 I have been enjoying rather large tied green tea balls that open up when steeped into green tea flowers. Most of the tea leaves stay in their tie, but some of the leaves break off into the tea and float to the surface. I find that chewing on them is quite tasty. Can I safely swallow them? Is there any reason NOT to consume these green tea leaves? Is there any benefit? We stuffed our Thanksgiving turkey with steeped green tea leaves and it was quite good, although perhaps somewhat subtle. Are there other uses for the steeped or unsteeped leaves, aside from cooking with matcha (finely powdered ceremonial green tea)? Thu Dec 07 19:45:26 -0800 2006 14014 liu 1 2079714 When the Burmese make tea salads, they use leaves that have been soaked in cool, running water for days and days. It's delicious, by the way. But other than the occasional matcha-flavored sweet, I haven't heard much else about tea leaves as food. Thu Dec 07 21:20:10 -0800 2006 2079298 10702 condiment 2 2080135 Does it taste like a seaweed salad, perhaps in texture? Thu Dec 07 23:10:57 -0800 2006 2079714 14014 liu 1 2079930 I was told to eat my green tea leaves for added health effect. Its the equivalent of having 2 oranges, the tea expert told me, when I was buying "long jeng" green tea. Thu Dec 07 22:08:38 -0800 2006 2079298 12423 jennjen18 2 2080133 Interesting...I was hoping for some information like this -- unless it is too good to be true???? Thu Dec 07 23:10:10 -0800 2006 2079930 14014 liu 3 2080332 Well, if you think about it ... the tea is just water that has diluted some of the flavour from tea leaves. The leaves will still have most of its nutrients in it, and if you think the tea itself is good, the tea leaves should have more than what the tea offers. Fri Dec 08 00:10:12 -0800 2006 2080133 12423 jennjen18 1 2080462 Does decaf work as well? Otherwise, I think eating tea leaves would keep me awake for the next decade. Fri Dec 08 01:03:44 -0800 2006 2079298 11231 Glencora 2 2080730 Yeah, I'm not so sure with other teas.. 'coz green teas have lots of nutrients and good stuff in it, so I was told the above. Just make sure what youre eating is good for you! Fri Dec 08 02:42:14 -0800 2006 2080462 12423 jennjen18 2 2081979 well, I suppose it'd be the equivalent of eating the leaves after a good steeping or two--flushing is, after all, all that producers do to "decaffeinate" a product. So, probably yes, but I'd hazard a guess and say it wouldn't be as beneficial as drinking and eating normal leaves. Fri Dec 08 17:22:15 -0800 2006 2080462 17463 PseudoNerd 1 2081132 Well, there are three issues possible when eating something "weird". 1. Is it poisonous? 2. Is it unchewable? 3. Is it sharp/pointy? So, for example, you don't want to eat toadstools because of #1; you don't eat lime leaves, even sliced, because of #2; and you don't eat whole artichoke leaves principally because of #3. Tea leaves have none of these issues, and in point of fact anyone who's ever been to a Chinese restaurant has had tea leaves because some of them make it through the strainer. I don't know that I'd chow down on them, but maybe... or you could make like coca leaf, put it in the pocket of your mouth, and chaw. Fri Dec 08 06:53:04 -0800 2006 2079298 10811 Das Ubergeek 2 2081986 And HELLO, Das Ubergeek! I love your way of looking at this...so simple and so perfect! And I wonder if it could be "chawed" like tobacco????? Thanks for your great response! And I will keep your litmus test of poisonous?-unchewable?-pointy? in my pocket for my future Chowing adventures! Fri Dec 08 17:22:54 -0800 2006 2081132 14014 liu 2 2083179 I eat very thinly-sliced lime leaves all the time in certain Thai dishes in restaurants and prepared at home as well. Am I missing something here? Fri Dec 08 22:15:08 -0800 2006 2081132 46024 allegro805 3 2448483 Me too, so far I'm fine. But they're home grown and the tender newish ones. And I also eat the thin-sliced lemon grass, which isn't really chewable. They really can't be any worse than broccoli. Tue Apr 03 21:42:47 -0700 2007 2083179 71215 mlgb 2 2448536 I eat lime leaves, sliced in things like Thai pork lettuce wraps. I don't eat them in soup, I fish them out like bay leaves, but I don't have a problem eating them in stirfrys and stuff.... Tue Apr 03 22:21:48 -0700 2007 2081132 69079 starlady 1 2081987 You know I eat leaves, right, A? I figure it'd be, if nothing else, akin to having another leafy green in my diet ^^ Fri Dec 08 17:23:31 -0800 2006 2079298 17463 PseudoNerd 2 2082646 Howdy and Hi, PseudoNerd! I hope you are serious, because my thinking runs along the same line. It just seems like they would be healthy. I love seaweed in all its permutations, so I equate tea leaves in this same category. Soooo, J, how do you eat them...as a salad, with a little soy dressing or sesame oil, a little grated ginger and some sesame seeds, perhaps? I might then squeeze a fresh orange over the entire dish. Fri Dec 08 20:04:46 -0800 2006 2081987 14014 liu 3 2083148 Am I J? :) I just eat the leaves just straight out when I'm done my tea, really. Eat them in its purist form to get the most nutrients out of it. But I've heard of Chinese dishes using tea leaves to make. I cant recall any off the top of my head, maybe the home cooking board can help you out on that one. Fri Dec 08 22:07:17 -0800 2006 2082646 12423 jennjen18 4 2083613 nah, I'm the abovementioned J ^^ I eat it the same way as jennjen does, without any additions, after finishing my tea. Sat Dec 09 00:55:15 -0800 2006 2083148 17463 PseudoNerd 1 2083133 In the book, "New Tastes in Green Tea," by Mutsuko Tokunaga, she refers to eating steeped leaves several times. She suggests using them as you would use any parboiled green vegetable; also to add them to rice pilafs and salads, or mix into the batter of deep-fried dishes. In fact, when you drink matcha, you are actually "eating" tea, as matcha is from the full leaves (minus stem and veins), ground to powder. Fri Dec 08 22:04:23 -0800 2006 2079298 50965 LBeff 2 2083155 LBeff - You have offered some good ideas...thanks! I have heard about this book before, and I love the idea of adding some pieces of green tea to any rice dish. Regarding the matcha, the bottom of the cup with the matcha-mud is my favorite part! In fact, when I am being served really good green tea (usually matcha) in a sushi bar, I ask for them to swirl the pot before they pour it so that I can get the powdered pieces of leaves. The servers who love tea themselves really "get" it; and the ones who don't probably just think I am strange with this request! Fri Dec 08 22:09:15 -0800 2006 2083133 14014 liu 1 2086218 I'm still getting used to matcha myself. What I like about this tea book is that it gives "permission" to try different ways of drinking green tea. She shows recipes for floats, shakes and coffee-type drinks. I like playing with tea this way, as I've always been more of a purist. Have fun eating your tea! Sun Dec 10 07:40:43 -0800 2006 2079298 50965 LBeff 2 2448457 would I get the same health benefits if I just ate the leaves raw as opposed to steeped? Tue Apr 03 21:27:12 -0700 2007 2086218 88408 CeLph 3 2448509 I've no idea but I'm wondering -- is tea anything like bay leaves? Why are bay leaves considered to be inedible but still good for flavor? I guess lemon grass and cinnamon fall into this category, eh, or is tea different? What about coffee? Tue Apr 03 21:59:41 -0700 2007 2448457 85615 misohungrychewlow 2 2448543 Often when I reconstitute dried shrooms I'll use left over tea. Also you can smoke fish with tea. I totally add Jasmine tea to rice as it's being cooked. Nummy. Tue Apr 03 22:25:15 -0700 2007 2086218 69079 starlady 1 4466773 I will give you the strongest and most accurate answer because I am a food scientist and I have studied such things. The answer is that you will probably not notice any added health benefits from eating tea leaves because the flavinoids in tea that give you the positive antioxidents only need to be taken in moderation to be effective and taking more than normal through consumption of tea leaves will not make it anymore likely you will be healthier. It is sort of like Linus Pauling and his mass consumption of Vitamen C. I will however point out one obvious and proven - possible side effect of consuming tea leaves: that being diarhea and upset stomach. The compounds in tea are a effective diurectic and consuming tea leaves in significant quantities can give you the runs. Mon Mar 02 13:34:23 -0800 2009 2079298 238897 timothysliao 2 4653048 flavinoids are not the only beneficial compounds present in the leaves... although they tend to get most of the attention in terms of health benefits. The leaves contain fiber which is protective for colon cancer and cardiovascualr disease due to the metabolism of the fiber by colon flora producing small chain fatty acids(SCFA). These SCFA's prevent aberrant proliferation and increase apoptosis thru action at the mitochondria. I personally eat the leaves for this reason and the many others pointed out above(minerals, bvitamins, etc). So unless you''re steeping more than a few grams of tea, then I think you're missing out on some added health benefits, diarrhea notwithstanding. :) Mon May 04 11:23:47 -0700 2009 4466773 289287 imouthesmp 1 4466790 Also an answer to your second part of the question about uses. The Chinese do love to cook using tea leaves and brown sugar. They create a smoke using tea leaves and brown sugar and indirectly smoke meats. There could be some issues with carcinogens but that happens whenever you eat smoked meat or cook anything on a direct heat source that caused the chemical compisition of the food to mutate. Mon Mar 02 13:38:48 -0800 2009 2079298 238897 timothysliao 1 5185556 I put green tea in my green smoothies. I don't know what it taste like on it's own... never tried it, but it's yummy with kale, bananas and pears. Mon Nov 16 09:32:47 -0800 2009 2079298 1124969 sindercid 1 5185574 There's a delicious dish of shrimp with green tea leaves (using the brewed tea as well)in Jiangzhe cuisine (the area around Suzhou/Shanghai/Hangzhou). The slight bitterness of the leaves with the sweet shrimp is lovely. Typical recipe: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/shrimprecipes/r/shrimptealeaves.htm Mon Nov 16 09:38:41 -0800 2009 2079298 13709 buttertart