Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your Easter with your family and friends and having lots of fun today! If you celebrate Easter then you most probably color eggs. Now most people (myself included sometimes) buy artificial dyes from stores but as you may know, the tradition of dyeing eggs has been around for many centuries and the dyes used back in the day were mainly derived from natural ingredients like vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
One of the best ingredients to use to color your eggs is tea! There are so many different types of herbs and tea that you can use to dye your eggs naturally, without chemicals and of course inexpensively. Most of you have tins of tea forgotten for ages in the back of your pantry so why not use it to be extra crafty this Easter?
In this post, I have suggestions on what herbs and teas to use to make the prettiest eggs ever!
How to Dye Easter Eggs with Tea Instructions:
- Wash your eggs well to remove any dirt on them with water and gentle soap.
- Place the eggs in a saucepan with clean, cool water and bring to a boil. Make sure to boil the eggs well, remove from heat and let cool down. Don’t un-shell the eggs.
- When your eggs are cool enough, clean them to remove any oily residue that could prevent the dye from adhering to the eggs.
- Place your tea dye mix in a large saucepan along with a few cups of water. For every tbsp of tea you use, use one cup of water. Use your own judgment as to how much tea you need to add depending on how vibrant you want the color to be. For pastel colors add 3 tbsp of tea for 6 eggs for more dark colors add more 4, 5 tbsp.- Bring the water just to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Let simmer about 30 minutes or until you reach the color you desire. Remember your eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour mixture into a large glass bowl and add 2-3 teaspoons of white vinegar for every cup of tea dye. Add your eggs. The eggs must be completely submerged into the dye.
- Leave the eggs to soak in the tea for several hours or overnight until you like the color they get. The longer they sit in the dye, the deeper the final color will be. You can refrigerate the eggs in the dye if you plan on eating them.
- When your eggs reach the color you like
remove them from the dye gently with a spoon and leave them on a rack to dry. Make sure you are gentle in this process since the dye can easily be rubbed off before they dry. - Just so you know, your eggs won’t have glossy look like they would if you dyed them with artificial dye. To give them that sheen you can gently rub them with some cooking oil.
Types of tea and Herbs to Use for Different Colors
- Yellow: For a soft yellow color use chamomile tea. For a more vibrant yellow or orange color use turmeric tea.
- Red: The best tea to use for red color is hibiscus tea. For a pinkish-red, you can use rooibos tea.
- Green: For a soft green color you can use green tea. Make sure you use a lot of green tea and prepare a strong brew as this is the hardest shade to create.
- Brown: Black tea will make your eggs brown.
- Blue: You can use lavender or blueberry tea for blue eggs.
Happy Easter!