Make jam or syrup with tea leaves
Tea-flavored syrups and jams make an unexpected, flavorful, and kicky addition to toast, a cheese spread, or even as a cocktail or mocktail sweetener. In this recipe, we use yaupon. But you can use any tea flavor that suits you. (We sing the praises of yaupon tea here. The yaupon plant is the only caffeine-containing plant indigenous to the U.S. And Native Americans have been drying the leaves and brewing the tea for centuries!)
To make a syrup, you’ll use equal parts liquid and sugar. This recipe uses 4 cups of each, but you can make more less depending on how much you want. This recipe uses 4 cups of each, but you can make more less depending on how much you want.
To turn it into jam, add pectin to thicken. Get the details below.
Ingredients
Enough loose tea to make 2 cups of tea. For yaupon, use 2 tsp of tea steeped for 5 minutes in 2 cups of boiling water,
A squeeze or two of lemon
2 cups of water
4 cups of sugar
For jam: 1 package of powdered pectin
Directions
Steep your tea according to directions. See above for yaupon amounts.
Pour the tea into a pan on the stovetop and add lemon juice to taste.
If you'r tea is still hot, move to the next step. If not, bring it close to a boil.
For syrup
Stir in the sugar and bring back to a boil to dissolve.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Pour cooled syrup into an airtight container, preferably one you can pour out of, like a squeeze bottle.
Store in the fridge for up to a month.
To use, bring to room temperature and pour (or squeeze).
For jam
Stir in the pectin and bring to a boil.
Stir in the sugar and bring back to a boil to dissolve.
While boiling, keep stirring for about one minute. The pectin should congeal and have the texture you expect from jelly or jam.
Remove from heat and let cool.
If you’re going to eat the jam within a couple of days, you can place it in a jar and store it in the fridge.
If you’re going to gift the jam or keep it around for a while, use a canning method to seal, such as this one.