Post by lew92 on Jan 7, 2016 9:28:24 GMT -5
Inspired by the November/December 2015 issue of Backwoods Home Magazine, I decided to make a collection of flavored teas and some muslin re-usable tea bags as a birthday gift for Rachel. I made enough that I can test them out beforehand, just in case a blend turned out awful. So far, so good!
I used loose-leaf teas I have had on hand for awhile. Black tea is Ceylon, which is full bodied, yet mellow and one of my favorites. I have Gunpowder green tea, which is whole tea leaves; as they dry, they curl up into balls that resemble gunpowder (I guess). Given enough room when re-hydrated, they unfurl and are rather pretty. The loose green tea I have is very finely chopped and a product I wasn't very happy with when I ordered it, but the flavor is fine. But it must be used with a very fine weave muslin in order to not muddy the tea.
I have taste tested all of the following blends that I made up, except for the chai, which I don't particularly care for. Rachel will have to give me feedback on that one.
While those are the loose leaf teas I used, feel free to experiment with whatever you have on hand. I have made scented teas by putting tea bags in a jar with flower petals or apple slices. It doesn't give as bold a flavor, but it is very interesting.
Orange Spice Tea
1 cup loose leaf black tea
3 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
4 - 3" long cinnamon sticks, broken
1 Tbsp whole cloves, broken
Place whole spices in a zip top bag and break up with a hammer. You may need to bend longer pieces of the cinnamon to break them further, as they can splinter and stay long. Keep in airtight container 1-3 days to fully meld flavor before use.
Gunpowder Ginger Tea
1 cup gunpowder green tea
3 Tbsp ginger (measurement after chopping)
Peel, then thinly slice ginger. Chop slices until the ginger pieces are very tiny.
Blend with the tea in an open container and cover with a cloth. Stir 2-4 times daily until clumps no longer form. Once it is fully dry, store air tight.
Sweet Apple Green Tea
1 cup loose leaf green tea
1 sweet apple, such as Fiji, Gala, Pink Lady
Wash and core apple. Slice thinly, then chop until the apple pieces are very thin. You need 1 cup of chopped apple. Mix apple with tea until well blended. Place in open container, cover with cloth. Stir 2-3 times a day.
On day 2, spread tea on parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in unheated oven. This will help dry out the tea without molding. As soon as it is fully dry, store in air tight container.
Chai Blend
1 cup Ceylon Black tea, loose leaf
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 - 3 " piece cinnamon stick
2 smallish chips nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp grated)
1 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp anise seed
1/4 tsp whole cloves
5 allspice berries
3 Tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
Blend tea and ground spices in a bowl. Break up cinnamon stick; place cinnamon stick pieces and the rest of the whole spices in a heavy skillet - cast iron is best - and toast them over medium high heat for about 3 minutes until very fragrant, shaking pan almost constantly to prevent burning of spices. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool, break up in mortar and pestle or grind in a coffee/spice grinder. You'll want coarse pieces of spices. Blend with the tea and other spices, store airtight.
To use, multiply following amounts per cup of chai desired:
1 tsp of chai blend
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup milk
Pour boiling water over chai blend in a saucepan; allow to steep 2 minutes. Add milk, return to a boil, then pour through sieve.
If your spices got too finely chopped like mine did, you'll have to stir the jar of tea and dig down to get a decent amount of the spice along with the loose tea leaves. And you'll probably want to put the chai blend in a finely woven muslin tea bag to brew it. Alternately, you could line the sieve with a piece of coffee filter.
I used loose-leaf teas I have had on hand for awhile. Black tea is Ceylon, which is full bodied, yet mellow and one of my favorites. I have Gunpowder green tea, which is whole tea leaves; as they dry, they curl up into balls that resemble gunpowder (I guess). Given enough room when re-hydrated, they unfurl and are rather pretty. The loose green tea I have is very finely chopped and a product I wasn't very happy with when I ordered it, but the flavor is fine. But it must be used with a very fine weave muslin in order to not muddy the tea.
I have taste tested all of the following blends that I made up, except for the chai, which I don't particularly care for. Rachel will have to give me feedback on that one.
While those are the loose leaf teas I used, feel free to experiment with whatever you have on hand. I have made scented teas by putting tea bags in a jar with flower petals or apple slices. It doesn't give as bold a flavor, but it is very interesting.
Orange Spice Tea
1 cup loose leaf black tea
3 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
4 - 3" long cinnamon sticks, broken
1 Tbsp whole cloves, broken
Place whole spices in a zip top bag and break up with a hammer. You may need to bend longer pieces of the cinnamon to break them further, as they can splinter and stay long. Keep in airtight container 1-3 days to fully meld flavor before use.
Gunpowder Ginger Tea
1 cup gunpowder green tea
3 Tbsp ginger (measurement after chopping)
Peel, then thinly slice ginger. Chop slices until the ginger pieces are very tiny.
Blend with the tea in an open container and cover with a cloth. Stir 2-4 times daily until clumps no longer form. Once it is fully dry, store air tight.
Sweet Apple Green Tea
1 cup loose leaf green tea
1 sweet apple, such as Fiji, Gala, Pink Lady
Wash and core apple. Slice thinly, then chop until the apple pieces are very thin. You need 1 cup of chopped apple. Mix apple with tea until well blended. Place in open container, cover with cloth. Stir 2-3 times a day.
On day 2, spread tea on parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in unheated oven. This will help dry out the tea without molding. As soon as it is fully dry, store in air tight container.
Chai Blend
1 cup Ceylon Black tea, loose leaf
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 - 3 " piece cinnamon stick
2 smallish chips nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp grated)
1 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp anise seed
1/4 tsp whole cloves
5 allspice berries
3 Tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
Blend tea and ground spices in a bowl. Break up cinnamon stick; place cinnamon stick pieces and the rest of the whole spices in a heavy skillet - cast iron is best - and toast them over medium high heat for about 3 minutes until very fragrant, shaking pan almost constantly to prevent burning of spices. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool, break up in mortar and pestle or grind in a coffee/spice grinder. You'll want coarse pieces of spices. Blend with the tea and other spices, store airtight.
To use, multiply following amounts per cup of chai desired:
1 tsp of chai blend
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup milk
Pour boiling water over chai blend in a saucepan; allow to steep 2 minutes. Add milk, return to a boil, then pour through sieve.
If your spices got too finely chopped like mine did, you'll have to stir the jar of tea and dig down to get a decent amount of the spice along with the loose tea leaves. And you'll probably want to put the chai blend in a finely woven muslin tea bag to brew it. Alternately, you could line the sieve with a piece of coffee filter.