Introduction: Infused Tea Eggs

About: I am an 18-year-old student in 12th grade, I enjoy baking, running, programming, 3-D design, photography, and nature!

Eggs are one of my favorite things to eat and cook with, they can take on so many different forms with different flavors. Tea eggs are a way to make tea-infused eggs, which sounds weird at first, but are actually really cool and really good. This guide will walk you through the process of making tea eggs, I hope you enjoy!!

Step 1: Ingredients

To make Tea Eggs you will need:

  • 6 eggs
  • 2 small Pu'er Tea nests (you can also use tea bags or loose tea)

Any combination of the following spices:

  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 Cloves Garlic cut into halves
  • 3 Ginger coins
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
  • Orange Peel Slices
  • Peppercorn

These are all the spices I used you can try any combination of these or your own. Traditional tea eggs have anise and cinnamon sticks and no ginger or garlic.

Step 2: Boil the Eggs

The first step is to boil just the eggs with water. Fill a medium pot with enough water to cover the tops of the eggs by at least an inch. Then bring them to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat and cool them in water in a strainer, you may need to use tongs to get the eggs out of the water, save the water for the next step. Once the eggs are cool enough to handle, use the back of a spoon to crack the shell all the wall around. The more you crack the egg the more intricate the design will be, however, make sure not to remove any of the peel.

Step 3: Adding the Spices

Add all of the remaining ingredients, the tea, and spices, to the water in the same pot. Now carefully add the eggs back into the pot one at a time. Bring the eggs to a boil, and immediately turn the heat down to a simmer, let simmer for 40 minutes with a lid. Now turn off the heat and leave the lid on and let them steep for at least 4 hours. If you just like the look of the eggs you can take them out now, but for more flavor let them steep. Your eggs are now ready to peel and eat, enjoy.

Step 4: Conclusion

Tea Eggs originated in China and quickly gained popularity, and are now sold and made all over the world. Tea eggs are made through infusion, a process used to make tea where hot water is used to pull flavor from the substance being immersed. The flavor of the tea and spices are infused into the water, the eggs then steep in the water to gain flavor and color, which gives the eggs their cool marble design. I hope you enjoyed this Instructable on making tea infused marble eggs.

If you wish to know more about infusions or tea eggs check out these great sources: