Cooking with tea is an age-old tradition in many parts of the world.

For example, in Tibet, tea is enjoyed like soup, served with butter and salt to compliment their diet which is mainly meat. In Japan, tea liquid is mixed with a thin stock and pour over rice to make a simple quick meal.

Are all the tea suitable for cooking?
Well, the short answer is no. Why? Because some tea has such a delicate taste that its taste will totally disappear once other flavours are added. One good example is Silver Needle white tea, it has such a light taste that it really should be enjoyed by itself.

The other end of this tea-in-cooking spectrum is probably tea that suits cooking better than drinking! By that, I mean the green powder tea, Matcha.

Matcha is a flour-like grounded green tea which has a very strong taste and is traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony. So the best way to enjoy this antioxidant powerhouse is to add it to dishes, or drinks. Just a tiny spoonful of Matcha can add a fusion touch to your vanilla milkshake, cookies or waffles.

There are also tricks to make tea a better cooking ingredient. For example, in our recipes:

• Smoky Ham & Corn Buns – the tea is coarsely grounded before adding to the dough;
• Hot Cross Icecream – replace the water component in your recipe with a strong tea such as black tea and make it double strength;
• Rose Oolong Scones – infuse it in milk before adding the milk component to your recipe.

So what you are waiting for? Arm yourself with your favorite tea and charge to the kitchen!

Matcha is available here at Teas.com.au