Dyeing eggs is a beloved Easter tradition that dates back thousands of years. Like tea, the practice of decorating eggs brings people together and is a great way to show off your creativity. Using tea to dye Easter eggs is a natural, chemical-free alternative to using conventional food coloring, and produces gorgeous earthy tones and a watercolor-like aesthetic.
Read on to learn simple tips on how to dye Easter eggs with tea.
How to dye eggs using tea
The key to creating beautiful tea-dyed Easter eggs is to steep very strong batches of tea. We recommend using one tablespoon of loose leaf tea per four eggs.
To further improve color transfer and staining of the eggs, we recommend adding a bit of white vinegar to the tea.
Pick your color
Different teas, unsurprisingly, will result in different colored eggs. Use the following as a guide to achieve the colors you want.
- Matcha green tea: Soft green
- Hibiscus tisane: Concrete gray (Trust us – don’t expect pink hues)
- Lemongrass tisane: Very pale yellow
- Breakfast black tea: Reddish brown
- Butterfly pea flower tisane: Blue
- Tumeric tisane: Yellow
Ingredients
The following will yield four dyed Easter eggs in one color. Repeat for each desired tea varietal/color.
- 4 hardboiled eggs
- 1 tablespoons loose leaf tea
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 cups boiling water
Directions
- Add loose leaf tea to a medium-sized, heat-resistant bowl or pitcher. Pour boiling water over the leaves. Allow the tea to steep, then cool until it reaches room temperature. Do not strain the tea leaves.
- Add white vinegar to the steeped tea. (This is optional but will help to improve staining.)
- Gently add hard-boiled eggs to the steeped tea. Place in the refrigerator. Let sit overnight, or for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove the eggs from the tea using a slotted spoon. Pat or gently wipe the eggs dry with a paper towel.
In addition to their transformation in color, expect to taste some of the flavor of the tea in the eggs. The surface of the egg white just under the shell may also be stained.
Enjoy eggs as is, or in your favorite egg salad or deviled egg recipe.