In my quest to explore new hobbies, I considered the art of making tea. When I was younger, I was fascinated with the section of the grocery store where you could buy loose-leaf teas by weight. I was too young to truly appreciate what I was drinking---rather, I lacked the knowledge to understand the different varieties of green, black, and oolong teas---but I enjoyed getting to brew a few cups of something new nontheless. I've always loved getting to try new tea bags, too. Stash's "Christmas in Paris," which features chocolate and lavender, is particularly memorable. So is Tazo's "Iced Lemon Loaf," which features rooibos. I'd never paid much attention to their ingredient lists; I chalked most of it up to "natural flavors," whatever those could be.
Sometime last year, I discovered Keats & Co., which sells loose-leaf tea blends for an affordable price. I briefly subscribed to their "tea taster club," and was sent a new bag of some tea every month. What caught my eye was the ingredient list for the Sweet Briar Botanical tea, which included blue cornflower, rose hips, and marshmallow root---all of which are real ingredients which can be purchased in one way or another. This got me thinking: what's to stop me from creating my own loose leaf tea blends? All I need is tea and herbs.
I started out by watching a video where someone talks through her process of making a tea blend. This was interesting, but I didn't get much out of it. I needed recipes and instructions. I needed to know what to buy and what to make. I needed a cookbook, but for tea blends.
Enter The Art and Craft of Tea, by Joseph Wesley Uhl. This book contains a handful of recipes with significant ingredient overlap. Perfect.
the art and craft of tea, by joseph wesley
shopping list
parenthesis indicate how many recipes the ingredient appeared in.
- black tea (4)
- almonds, shelled and raw (1)
- black peppercorns (2)
- cardamom pods (4)
- cinnamon sticks (2)
- clove (2)
- ginger, fresh (2)
- fennel seeds (4)
- orange zest (1)
- star anise (2)
Cardamom: couldn't find it at grocery store. Amazon was going to take too long. Going to try this - 1/4 tsp ground ginger + 1/4 tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp cloves per pod.
indian spiced tea
I used: 1.5tsp cloves, 2 nutmeg (broken), 1.5tsp ground ginger, 8 black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick (broken), 1tsp fennel seeds, 1 star anise, 8g black tea, pinch of sugar. This is a helluva lot richer than any chai tea I've ever had. The black peppercorns and ginger add a unique spiciness to it, while the cloves, fennel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise round out the tea. Would undoubtedly be better if I had obtained cardamom.
Note---I want a nutmeg-forward tea. Maybe do something with nutmeg, cinnamon, and fennel or anise?
hyderabad iranian tea
south indian black cardamom tea
I used 1/4tsp ground cloves (why cloves; i didn't feel like buying whole cloves so i used what i have on hand; ratio of 1 whole clove: 1/4tsp ground clove), 1tsp fennel seeds, and 1c each of water and almond milk. i love the complexity of this---there's a slight bitterness, a bit of liquorice, earthiness, and a vague floralness. adding sugar was a mistake; this took away the astringency of the drink.
ethiopian tea
"technically a tisane and not a tea"
My ingredients: 1/4tsp ground cardamom, 4 black peppercorns, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1/2tsp fennel seeds, 1/2tsp ground clove, 1/2 piece of star anise, 1/8tsp ground ginger, zest of one orange (about 1/4tsp?).