Thursday, April 6, 2017

Look Online For Great Tea Recipes

By Ann Edwards


Once again the internet is the go-to place for any recipe, old or new. There are many sites that tell us how to make old favorites and also give directions for new things that you have never imagined. It's the same for tea recipes. You may want to make the definitive sweet iced kind that evokes southern charm, or find a way to incorporate teas of all kinds in baked goods, desserts, and even main dishes.

Sweet tea, the classic drink of the deep south, has become a staple in both elegant and fast food restaurants. One technique for making this favorite advocates adding sugar to concentrated, hot tea and allowing the brew to steep. Later you dilute it to taste with cool water and then serve over ice. Some people make a sugar syrup and stir that into already-brewed tea. The taste is quite different from what you get by simply adding a spoonful of sugar right before you drink it.

There are variations to this old-time summer drink. Some of the best ones use mint (12 sprigs to a pitcher), lemon juice or orange juice, or all of the above. Alternate orange and lemon slices for garnish to make your table look inviting. You can also change things up by serving chai cold or making a warm, tea-based smoothie.

Chai comes from India, which is now the world's largest producer of traditional tea. Specifically known as masala (spice) chai (tea), this brew is flavored with cardamon and ginger, with clove and cinnamon other popular flavors. Each region of the vast continent has its own variation, and you can create your signature beverage by experimenting with different tastes and aromas.

The divine tea mushroom, or kombucha, is cultured black or green tea. You can buy it in various flavors at the grocery store; it will be refrigerated and probably in the natural foods section. You can also make it at home. Fill a large jar with tea and sugar, add the culture (a mushroom or liquid starter), and ferment for a week or so. This renders a probiotic-rich, sweet, vinegary drink that has many health benefits and goes great with meals.

You can bake with green and black teas and herbal infusions. Use them for flavoring in muffins, doughnuts, and scones. Poach a salmon filet. Make a frozen dessert. Use a favorite one instead of water when making your morning oatmeal. Incorporate them in jelly or try making Chinese tea eggs, a street-vendor delicacy.

The camellia plant is grown in warm places all over the world. India and China are the largest producers, but now even the United States has an industry. England, which brought the beverage to the west, now grows some of its own in Cornwall, where the proximity of the sea makes up for the northern location.

Sun tea is fun to make. All you need is a large jar of water, four or five bags of your favorite tea, and a sunny day. By nighttime the power of the sun will have done the brewing.




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