When we drink tea, we treat it a lot like wine. It pairs with food, has limitless diversity based on vintage and climate, and has a depth of flavor that makes it easy to develop particular tastes. Given how much we cook with wine, then, I thought it odd that tea as an ingredient was so uncommon!

Heather really took off with cooking with tea. It started with her canning bug and some leftover iced tea; since then, it’s been a fun twist that’s really expanded from the sweets and desserts initially imagined.

The spice rub below is something I definitely didn’t expect to work out, and exceeded my wildest expectations. Flavorful, savory, and easy to throw together. Variations of it are now a nigh-constant addition to my spice rack, despite the winter dearth of grilling opportunities!

Try it as a rub for pork, beef, or chicken before it hits the grill or the smoker, or even roasting. You can even mix it in with barbeque sauce for a helluva zing, or use it as a rub or addition to a braised cut of meat.

9-Spice Nilgiri Tea Rub

• 5 tablespoons finely ground Nilgiri black tea
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 heavy pinches kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sweet curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground mace

Some texture isn’t bad (even welcome), but make sure you grind or crush the tea well. Use a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or a plastic bag and hammer if you have to. The red pepper flakes need a bit of a crush as well to release some of their oils.

The variations are pretty endless so long as you stick to the proportions – any full-bodied, hardy black tea will stand up to the spices. Use a Russian Caravan tea for a heavy smoke flavor. A rich Keemun alongside extra pepper and spice. Or say, a dessert tea like Butterscotch Caramel and dark brown sugar for a rib-sticking base for a glaze.

– Matt