For Better Banana Bread, Brew A Cup Of Earl Grey Tea

In terms of simple, easy-to-make, sweet-but-not-too-sweet treats, it's hard to top a slice of warm banana bread. Bored of basic breakfasts? Got the mid-afternoon munchies for something sweet without being a full-on dessert? Have friends coming over? Banana bread can do it all. It's one of those classic, no-fuss baked goods that everyone has a tried and true recipe for, but that also practically begs to be adapted. 

Outside of the basic ingredients — super ripe bananas, flour, a fat source, sweetener, and leavening — almost all components can be tweaked and substituted to your heart's content. If you've already tried all the usual add-ins and tips for banana bread — swirling in chocolate chips, nuts, or peanut butter – adding some Earl Grey tea to your loaf is an unexpected but delicious twist to try next time the baking urge strikes. Adding the bold, citrusy tea is as easy as brewing a cup and adds subtle but delightful floral notes and extra moistness to any loaf.

Simply steep a strong cup of Earl Grey tea, then add a bit of the brewed liquid into your recipe in place of whatever liquid you'd typically use. Since banana bread is incredibly forgiving and easy to adapt, try leaving out some of the melted butter or oil, for example. Or, if your recipe calls for milk, use the tea instead to add both liquid and flavor to the batter.

The reason this hack works is thanks to the star ingredient of Earl Grey tea itself — the bergamot oil, which imparts the black tea with a fragrant, citrus flavor that creates its hallmark taste and aroma. Bergamot oil comes from a bergamot orange — as you might guess — which is a little-known member of the citrus family akin to an orange-lemon hybrid. The tea gained popularity thanks to the Brits, who still enjoy it as a tea-time staple, but there are several theories surrounding its exact origin story.

While quite bold in a cup on its own, when added to bread, the heady citrus notes of Earl Grey cook off, and the overall flavor becomes weaker, leaving behind a delicate floral flavor and slight brightness that leaves the banana flavor front and center. With that, you may want to brew and add much stronger tea than you would make just for sipping, to make sure the Earl Grey flavor is noticeable. Depending on how much of a floral, citrus flavor you're going for and the type and brand of Earl Grey you have in your cupboard, you can brew a cup of tea with as many as five tea bags to achieve a concentrated bergamot flavor that shines through. One thing of note — baking with tea will inherently add some caffeine to your treats, so if you're especially sensitive or feeding those who are, proceed with caution. 

Feeling like dressing up your bread with some chopped nuts or cocoa powder? Dialing up the indulgence with a drizzle of icing or bringing it down to earth with some banana bread with added zucchini, or gluten-free flour and less sugar? No matter what recipe you're following or whether you prefer your banana bread no-frills, extra indulgent, or made gluten-free or vegan, the addition of Earl Grey tea works. Just be mindful of how much additional liquid you're adding, and do your best to keep the dry-to-liquid ratio as it was originally written so you don't end up with a wonky or overly wet bread. If you're feeling fancy, try brewing a cup and adding it not only to the batter, but using it to create a simple sugary glaze made with powdered sugar for extra noticeable Earl Grey flavor. 

While Earl Grey works particularly well here, waking up the mild sweet banana flavor and imparting a bit of bright citrus to your bread, tea improves many baked goods — just as there are many desserts that are better with the addition of coffee. Try adding brewed chai tea to a future batch, for example, or adding brewed tea to other loaf cakes or even oatmeal for additional flavor and aroma that water alone could never add.