Have you ever looked at the safety warnings of a commercial wood stain product? It’s a long list of nasty chemicals!

I’ve used it before, but even with safety gloves and goggles, I hate using such toxic, corrosive ingredients.

When I came across this post that outlined ways to use black tea to stain wood, I got really excited. I could darken my wood a bit without exposing myself to commercial stains. Perfect!

I was a bit skeptical at first. I didn’t know if it would really color the wood, but it did! It transformed the bare wood to a beautiful, rich maple color. I love it.

Non-toxic natural wood stain: black tea

Ingredients:

• 3 black tea bags
• 1/4 cup vinegar

Steps:

• Steep the tea bags in about 1/2 cup boiling water for 15 minutes. Take tea bags out.
• Add the vinegar and let the mixture cool.
• Using a foam brush, apply it to the wood.

Here is a before and after shot of the treatment with this black tea wood stain. I love the maple color in the finished product.

I stained the wood for this post in preparation of an exciting new wall shelf. I’ll share that with you all in a few days! Stay tuned!

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