Who’s up for summer barbecues this season? We don’t have a backyard at home but have set up a small grill on the terrace because there is nothing like grills and barbecues on balmy summer evenings. Coupled with a few pitchers of iced teas and an assortment of small bites, barbecues always turn into a fun impromptu party.
Recently, I’ve made it my agenda to experiment with all the tea I’ve been drinking. There are so many interesting flavors that it’s a crime to just use them to make tea, if you know what I mean. I’ve tried poaching with tea because it has such a lovely aroma, smoking meat because tea leaves were just made for it, and also developing meat rubs.
We were so happy with a tea rub I recently made that I had to share a recipe here. It’s incredibly easy to make as long as you have all the ingredients on hand, and you can use it like you would any spice rub. Though I have to say that it goes best with red meats. Make ahead and store in an airtight container, and it’ll last you a month.
If you are planning your next barbecue, make sure to try out this aromatic barbecue spice tea rub.
Barbecue Spice Tea Rub
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Darjeeling Classic Summer Chinary Black
- 2-inch cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 2-3 whole dried red chilies
Method
- In a spice blender, blend together the tea leaves, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns to a coarse powder.
- Add the salt and chilies and pulse a few times till everything is blended and the rub is still coarse to the touch.
- Store in an airtight container till ready to use.
Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on April 20, 2016. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026. Make the rub with a Darjeeling black tea from our single-estate Darjeeling teas.
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