It's no secret, I love me some tea. Not that dust and catnip that comes in bags, but fresh and robust loose leaf tea. Tea isn't just for sipping when you have a cold, you can do all sorts of things with it. As I was putting together a friends tea themed Holiday present, I came up with the idea to delve into the world of cooking with tea. Numerous devilish and delicious deserts call for green tea in their mascarpone or mallow. In reality, I don't bake. Never have, never will. In fact, I am diabolically opposed to a recipe telling me in absolute terms what I can and cannot do. I don't play that. So, I have decided to solar infuse olive oil with a few different types of tea for marinades and sauteing savory dinner entrees.
Below there are three kinds of tea.
The left is a lapsang suchong, or Pine Smoked black. It is a BOLD black tea with a smoky infusion. My friend calls it camp fire tea.
The middle is a white Earl Grey. White tea is a light tea from the newest tea leaves. It is highest in antioxidants and it is crisp with a sharp bite. This white tea has a bergamot citrus essence as is traditional for Earl Grey teas.
The right tea is a lychee fruit essence black tea. Tea producers will infuse a tea with a flavor, like bergamot, during the drying or fermentation process of the leaves. Lychee is a strong citrus like fruit that will pair well with salmon or other types of fish.
DIRECTIONS1. Gather the ingredients:
A glass bottle with stopper.
Mid-grade Olive Oil.
Good organic loose leaf tea.
Later you will need a fine strainer.
2. Wash and dry glass bottle. Fill two inches from mouth with Olive Oil. BTW, I will never use the terms EVOO. Neither should you.
3. Fill with approximately two tablespoons of the tea leaves. Use your judgement when utilizing smaller or larger containers. Note:container should be clear for solar infusion.
4. Cork container and place in moderate sunlight for a week and a half. Oil may become cloudy, don't worry, oil with preserve anything and cloudiness doesn't effect the flavor.
5. Strain the oil with a fine strainer and return to container.
Above is the Lapsang Suchong Oil
White Earl Grey Oil Above
My first inclination is to use the oil in a marinade for fish and tofu. When my oil is fully infused I will get in the kitchen and post a recipe that worked. In the meantime, I suggest googling some tea recipes to see what you can with your leftover tea. You can make a hell of an alcoholic punch!. Put your tea bags down, loose leaf is where it's at. 
