Tea and Rice Soup
Tea offers a great alternative to chicken or vegetable broths, adding an exotic flavor to this Asian-inspired soup.

3 cups jasmine rice
31/4 cups water to boil rice
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups water
5 teaspoons loose green tea
1/2 bunch bok choy, washed and thinly sliced
1/2 bunch watercress
2 nori seaweed sheets, crumbled

Rinse the rice and cook in a rice cooker or boil in a pot on the stove. Bring the 5 cups of water to a boil, then add the tea and steep for three minutes. Strain the tea leaves. In individual serving bowls, combine a generous serving of rice with the bok choy, watercress, and seaweed. Add tea to make a soup.

Green Tea Ice Cream
All it takes to create this pale green, delicately flavored treat is to buy some vanilla ice cream and mix it with matcha, powdered green tea leaves. Making dessert doesn't get any easier than this..

 1/4 cup matcha (powdered green tea)
1 quart vanilla ice cream

Thoroughly stir matcha into softened ice cream, and serve.

Pears Poached in Green Tea
The smoky flavor of green tea perfectly balances the sweetness of ripe pears in this unusual dessert.

11/2 tablespoons green tea leaves
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
4 firm, ripe pears, peeled, halved, and cored

Boil water, let it cool for a minute, and then stir in tea. Steep for 5 minutes, then pour through a sieve to remove leaves. Return the tea to the pan, add sugar, ginger, and almond extract, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, add pears cut-side down, and poach until tender. Cool before serving.

Tea-and-Fruit Cake
Fruit cake is an ideal companion for afternoon tea. In this recipe, black tea adds a rich flavor to the cake itself.

1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
11/4 cup brewed black tea
13/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 cup pitted and chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup almonds

Cream together the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add tea and mix well. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and blend with the wet ingredients. Stir in the fruit and nuts. Turn mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.