This article is about the Chinese egg-based snack. Tea egg is sometimes also used to refer to a Tea infuser

Tea infuser

A tea infuser is a device in which loose tea leaves are placed for steeping, usually in a cup; it is often called a teaball or tea maker, and sometimes a tea egg. The tea infuser gained popularity in the first half of the 19th century...

.

Tea egg is a typical Chinese

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

 savory snack

Snack

A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...

 commonly sold by street vendors or in night markets in most Chinese communities throughout the world.

Regular/traditional method

Fragrant and flavorful tea eggs are a traditional Chinese treat. The original recipe uses various spices, soy sauce, and black tea leaves. A commonly used spice for flavoring tea eggs is Chinese five-spice powder

Five-spice powder

Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices endemic to Chinese cuisine, but also used in other Asian cookery as well.-Formulae:The formulae are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food. There are many variants. The most common is bajiao , cloves, cinnamon, huajiao ...

, which contains ground cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns. Some recipes
do not use tea leaves, but they are still called "tea eggs". In the traditional method of preparation, eggs are boiled until they reach a hardened, cooked state. The boiled eggs are removed from the water, and the entire shell of each egg is gently cracked all around. Smaller cracks produce more marbling when the egg is peeled for eating. The extra water from the boiling should be allowed to seep out of the eggs on its own. After about ten minutes, the cracked eggs are ready to be put into the prepared spiced-tea liquid and simmered at medium heat. The simmering allows the spiced fluid to seep into the cracks and marinate the eggs inside their shells. After about 20 minutes, the eggs and the spiced-tea liquid should be transferred to a glass or ceramic container for further steeping in a refrigerator. For best results, the eggs should be allowed to steep for two days. The dark color of the spiced tea gives the egg a marbled effect when it is peeled to be eaten.

Quick method

Another method of making tea eggs is to boil the eggs until fully cooked inside, then remove the hard boiled eggs from their shells and let them steep in the spiced tea mixture at low heat for a little longer. The eggs and the mixture are removed from the heat and transferred to a glass or ceramic container for further steeping. This method requires a shorter steeping time than the traditional method. Also, the egg is less visually appealing without the marbled effect from the traditional crack shell method of preparation. The eggs can be eaten at anytime; however, the longer they are allowed to steep, the richer the flavor will be. The perfect spiced-tea egg should have a perfect balance between the egg's natural flavor and the spices. The cracking method is the formal feature in this traditional egg recipe. Tea eggs are traditionally eaten cold.

Appearance and flavor

In the end, when the peel comes off, the egg should have regions of light and dark brown, with mid-brownish tone along the cracks of the shell. The yolk should have a thin, greyish layer, with the core being the usual yellow. As for flavor, it depends on which tea (the type and strength) and the variety of spices used. Five-spice powder adds a savory, slightly salty tone to the white, and the tea should bring out the yolk's flavor.

Hong Kong

The tea used in making tea eggs is usually low in quality but high in dark-brown tannins. Green tea

Green tea

Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...

 is considered too bitter for this recipe. In Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 Pu-erh tea

Pu-erh tea

Pu'er, Pu-erh, Puer, also Po Lei or Bolay is a variety of post-fermented tea produced in Yunnan province, China. Post-fermentation is a tea production style in which the tea leaves undergo a microbial fermentation process after they are dried and rolled. This is a Chinese specialty and is sometimes...

 is most commonly used, but it can be substituted with any black tea

Black tea

Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the...

 leaf.

China

In Northeast China

Northeast China

Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...

 and other parts of northern China as well as in major cities, tea eggs are a household treat. They are also sold in stores, restaurants, and from street vendors.

Taiwan

In Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, tea eggs are a fixture of convenience store

Convenience store

A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

s. Through 7-Eleven

7-Eleven

7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...

 chains alone, an average of 40 million tea eggs are sold per year.

Also some people would say that the tea eggs' flavor is very addictive. It tends to linger in one's mouth because of the star anise used in the preparation. This spice has also commonly been used in teas from other countries, where they also report a similar addictive quality. Tea eggs can be made with or without cracks, but will still have the same flavor, but a different appearance. The most traditional way to prepare them is simply to make cracks in the shells after they are finished hard boiling, but before one soaks or boils them in the brine made out of tea, sugar, soy sauce, star anise, and cinnamon. All of these ingredients can be modified depending on a person's preference. Soaking the eggs for longer will result in more flavor.

See also

• Century egg
  Century egg
  Century egg or pidan , also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg, and millennium egg, is a Chinese cuisine ingredient made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several...
  
  
• Soy egg
  Soy egg
  Soy egg is a type of Chinese egg cooked in soy sauce, sugar, water, as well as optionally other herbs and spices.-Usage:Soy eggs may be eaten individually as a snack. They are sometimes used as a condiment in congee...
  
  
• Balut
• Salted duck egg
  Salted duck egg
  A salted duck egg is a Chinese preserved food product made by soaking duck eggs in brine, or packing each egg in damp, salted charcoal. In Asian supermarkets, these eggs are sometimes sold covered in a thick layer of salted charcoal paste. The eggs may also be sold with the salted paste removed,...
  
  
• Iron egg
  Iron egg
  Iron eggs are a speciality egg-based dish from Taiwan. They are considered a delicacy and originated in the Tamsui District of New Taipei City....