I have a box of that same horrible tea, and I've been steeping it in hemp milk and using the cooled mixture as the liquid in my morning chia puddings. Not too bad if used that way, especially if you first blend it with some fresh ginger, or garnish with dried cranberries and toasted pecans.

I have the same problem with this exact tea. I've continued drinking it because I didn't want to be wasteful but I wince each time I take a sip. Thanks for this great idea!

My issue is usually "too bitter" -- won't that permeate anything I use it for?

I occasionally do tea swaps, where people bring their unloved teas and trade them out for ones they might like better. (I'm a huge fan of sweet teas, for example, while I really don't like anything with chamomile or mint.)

At the end of the swap, anything that's left over gets tossed, on the theory that if NO ONE wants it, it probably wasn't worth it.

A personal motto: Life is too short for bad tea.

My other alternatives to throwing out a too-sweet flavored tea include bringing the box to share at work, and "cutting" it with plain black/green/white tea- just cut open the pouches and mix them in a jar. Often, that's enough to get a hint of flavor without the overkill.

I pass bad teas off to my husband. He will drink just about any tea, even ones he does not like. I'm so lucky!

Wow, I love that tea. It's up there with peppermint and a strong black tea on my "must always have in the cupboard" list. But there are a few teas that I couldn't finish off that have had to find other uses. For teas that taste ok but not great (like the cardboardy ginger peach I picked up recently or the way-too-fruity berry zinger stuff), I throw in one bag along with the regular handful of tea bags when making a pitcher of iced tea. It adds just a hint of flavor without being quite so overpowering.

For teas that smell better than they taste, I brew them up, let cool, then use as a hair rinse. I've got an old jar of chamomile/vanilla blend that smells heavenly and tastes like straw, but it leaves my hair so shiny.

If all else fails, there's always the compost bin.

Use as a component in a brine or marinade for chicken or pork?

The other tragedy is that tons of land in the tropics is deforested to grow black, green and other typed of tea. Very few are shade-grown or hand harvested. I buy one's recommended by Sierra club (although not perfect) and only buy those in reuseables metal tins with no bag, box or those horribly wasteful wrappers. I use the unwanted teas on my watercolor paintings.

Sorry for the typos. Dumb iPad.

You can give them to me, I like that tea.

I take horrible tea to work and leave it in the breakroom. It's usually gone by the end of the day.

I second ATN654's suggestion to take it to work. One person's inedible 'junk' is another person's edible treasure.

I saw on America's Test Kitchen this weekend that you can use tea bags, after a brief soak and squeeze, in place of wood chunks when you want a smoke flavor in your BBQ. Just spread them out on tin foil, make a pouch with it, and throw it on the hot charcoal. Once it starts to steam, start your meat!

I usually like the sweet bagged teas in the afternoon as a treat instead of a cookie/other sugar laden thing. If I wasn't trying to move more towards loose leaf teas, I would definitely pick it up!

Any suggestions on what to do with a fruit tea (loose leaf pomegranate) that leaves a really waxy taste behind? Maybe I'm just brewing it wrong but I'm also afraid to try baking it into something and having it leave that same taste.

Ha! I just realized that this is the same tea that somebody dropped off in our work break room after Christmas. It's been sitting there un-touched since.

Lol! Yes, I bring tea I don't like to the volunteer break room where I work.

Other options - use it in madeleines! I used to work at a pastry shop that made the most divine earl grey madeleines. Helped that they were using fancy, white-tip, loose-leaf earl grey tea, I'm sure.

Since it's apple tea, why not use it to mull hot cider? Or add it to apple quick bread or even apple crisp/pie in lieu of (or in addition to) normal spices.

Could also be used in barbecue or cider sauce for roast pork. That would be delicious.

I have Yogi brand Aztec Sweet Chili tea which is described on their website as: "This spirited blend combines the intensely rich aroma of cocoa with the invigorating spice of organic cayenne, prized by herbalists for thousands of years for its gently warming and energizing properties. The traditional Ayurvedic blend of organic ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and clove supports the nervous system while invigorating and cleansing the body."

Has anybody tried it or based on the description have any ideas on how to put it to use other than drinking, because I just don't like it

There is also a recipe on this very website for Earl Grey Tea Shortbread cookies, and they are divine - wonderful for a mid-afternoon munch. The best teas that I've tried for the cookies have been just like this - on the cheap side, flavored, and varieties that didn't sit well when sipped. Thai tea is particularly good, if you can find it, and turns the cookies a pretty pink color. :)

I actually enjoy this tea (probably because I love sweet tea), but I used it this weekend to help get rid of the horrible smell left over after cleaning my oven. I brought a pot of water to boil, threw in a just 1 of these tea bags and reduced it to simmer for a few hours (adding water when it got low). The smell was SO much better than the gross smoke smell, and I only had to use 1 tea bag for a few hours of potpourri.

Someone in my office keeps bringing their unwanted, disgusting flavored tea in to "share", and it never gets used. A couple of weeks ago, I broke down and tossed out the white chocolate raspberry tea that had been sitting in the break room for years. And speaking of dumping unwanted food on coworkers, there are several candy canes in our break room that have sat there, untouched, since the beginning of the year.

If you do try to fob off your unwanted food at work, please be kind enough to throw it in the trash if no one eats it for some weeks or months.

I have so much tea. I am a tea-whore. Is that ok to say?! ha! For Christmas, I made little packages of various Tazo teas that I won't ever get around to using up. That's a GREAT way to quickly pass along the bounty of teas.

I'd like to know if anyone puts them in their baths? or uses them for body care?

The biscotti idea sounds great! I have this Sugar Cookie tea that smells great, but I don't care for it... and I ADORE sweet tea! (Grew up in the South.) Using it for bread or biscotti might just do the trick!

I have some teas that are just horrible but think they would be great in baked goods. I'll definitely try it out. Thanks everyone for the great ideas!!

I got a large container of green tea and I simply don't like green tea, nor can I find someone else who does. Instead, I used it to make clay masks and hair rinses. I don't know if it helps but I've never noticed any negative effects and it makes me feel like I'm fancy, spa treatments.

I put them in the compost.

how interesting! i did something recently with my chai gingerbread recently:

http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/this-aint-chuck-e-cheeses/

but steeped the tea first in the water I added to the mix. never thought about adding the spices directly to it!

Infuse them in vodka with other complimentary flavors for a liqueur. When added to soda, fresh fruit juice, and bitters, it is not nearly so sweet, and makes a fun in-house cocktail.

Interesting post! I love sweet tea,(southern ancestors,lol!) Never thought of using unliked tea in the bath, good idea, esp if you like the scent.
And I don't think of it as "fobbing off" unwanted items on co-workers, i think of it as not wanting to be wasteful. And btw, I don't do it, as i work at home!

I definitely bring mine to work, but our stockroom guys will eat anything not nailed down (and I wonder about a couple "marks" on the tables...) so its not an issue. Sour Patch Kid candy canes=devoured. Yuck.

I also tend to cut the weird overpowering fruit teas with black whether hot or cold. Also brew and use for cooking rice for pudding. Or plain Oatmeal for breakfast.

I've had the exact issue with that tea! Unfortunately it sat in my cupboard for months and I ended up throwing it away - now I'm kicking myself. Brilliant idea!

Why not use them in a sachet?

I use it as mulch in houseplants.

keep them on a low simmer on your stove top to make your house smell good?

I've used brewed tea as a broth for lentil soup before. The trick is getting a light tea flavor, but not so strong it overpowers everything else.
www.rootpursuits.com

I have some bread recipes that call for soaking dried fruit in Hot Tea before using it in bread. This recipe looks good I will be trying it.
http://medhaa.blogspot.com/2008/11/earl-grey-tea-loaf.html

I'm not a fan of black teas, so I've given them to friends when I find myself with a box of tea I don't want to drink. Gave a huge bag of teas to my husband's colleague a couple months ago--she was thrilled.

I bought a box of chai green tea, thinking it was a brilliant flavor combination. Not so. Oh is it ever the most disgusting thing I have ever bought. Someone suggested bringing it to work, but I have visions of someone making themselves a cup, and then going on a witch hunt to find the person who brought it in and shame them. I wouldn't even think they were overreacting.
No one wants this tea. It must be returned to the Earth from whence it came.

But I am very eager to use some good (or good smelling) teas in my cooking. I had an idea for a chai tea (not the above mentioned chai tea) curry. I have a black tea chai mix that is too smokey and overly-spiced to sip, but might pair well with things simmered in coconut milk.

I used some tea in custards that turned out great.

I use them in sugar scrubs! It is wonderful!

Use them to infuse vodka!

They're not bad as iced teas, often. I have a blueberry-flavored one, blech, that made quite a tasty iced drink.

i tried leaving horrible tea in the breakroom and its still there 2mo later :(

If its bagged tea then I cut them open and sprinkle the tea around the base of plants that like acid (like tomato plants). I've read that adding the tea to plants is good for them (I typically do this with all used tea as well). That said there can sometimes be an issue with bugs. I've found that mixing the tea into the soil a little prevents that being an issue on my tiny balcony. This would also work for house plants as bugs won't be an issue.

Alternatively or perhaps even before doing this step sometimes I brew the tea in a shallow pot on the stove to add a nice scent to the house (this is especially great for when you get a gross tea that smells nice). Again I'd recommend cutting the bags apart (if you use bagged tea) before soaking. I tend to throw the tea bags into the pots of dirt as well to avoid throwing them out.

Finally, I'd recommend using the dry leaves to absorb odors. This works better if you mix it with baking soda (but just the leaves do the trick as well). At the moment I even have hidden bags of some herbal tea from Trader Joes on 3M hooks in my front closet hidden behind the folding door to help mask shoe smells.

I had that same tea and it is pretty horrible. I still drank most of it since I brought it with me to Algonquin park on a backpacking trip in late October... it was simply too cold to not drink tea! I think I threw out the rest of the box when I got back. Moral of the story: Always make sure you know you're bringing tea you like when going late-season camping!

I'm curious if you could make your own homemade applesauce and add some of this tea since it's already apple spice.. or add it to an apple pie

I steep it extra strong and use the liquid to steam veggies (favorite is spice tea for steamed carrots). I like the ideas I am seeing here too! What great ideas!

I will definitely be putting some around my plants this summer - I have never heard of that. I usually put spent bags in my compost bin, but this is a more direct way.