Earl Grey Tea

Okay, this is the simplest of recipes, and since it's tea, I won't be giving a picture. Plus, I'm already out of town camping by the time y'all get this, so there's that. Have a great weekend!

3-4 teaspoons black tea (I've been using osmanthus for this)
20-25 ounces water heated to between 190F and 200F
1-2 tablespoons bergamot sugar

Heat water, and pour it over tea. Put sugar in your teapot (not the one you're steeping in, but the one you're pouring your cups from). Wait three minutes, then drain tea from spent leaves into pot that has sugar in it. Stir, portion out, drink. Serves 2.

Comments

  1. cosmicaug6:22 PM

    Oh, you don't just say boiling water? I thought it was just the green teas that need the cooler water. I guess I just haven't been paying attention because I'm sure you must have said something about tea temperatures at one point or another.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allie10:56 AM

    Nope. Boiling water really isn't good for either coffee nor tea. It's what people most commonly use, but by letting the water just be a touch cooler, it allows all the subtle nuances of the tea (and coffee!) to come out, with lowered astringency.

    You might have heard me rant most about the temperature for green tea, because it's a much bigger deal than with black. It's still important w/ black, but not so much so that I'd harp on someone if I saw them use boiling water. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. cosmicaug6:09 PM

    Good to know!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gems, Lovely Gems

Image
I actually have a bit more homework than I anticipated, so today I just want to tell you guys about gems. It appears that no one really knows what gems are anymore, but back in the 1800s they were a popular, if heavy, treat. So much so, that many pioneers even found room in their wagons to bring a gem pan. By the early 1900s, gems had fallen out of favour and most people just went with muffins. It's a sad, sad thing, really. Traditionally, gem pans were made from cast iron. You can still find beautiful, old cast iron pans on eBay. In fact, aside from scouring antique shops hopefully (and often fruitlessly), eBay is the only place I know that routinely "carries" them. You can find a proper gem pan for as little as US$5, and I've seen them as much as US$300. You just never really know. My advice, however, is to find one that's shallow, made in the mid-1800s (this is when the pans were really in their prime, quality-wise), and in extremely poor condition. I say to fi
Read more

Lentil, Chick Pea and Eggplant Boil

Image
Sorry for the delay. I actually made this days ago, but due to my busy school schedule (yay! The semester is finally almost over!), I didn't have time until now to post it. I always forget about lentils. I always have them in the house, and like them quite a bit, but most of the time, they don't even exist as an option in my head. I don't know why that is. I've been telling P for a while now I wanted to eat more lentils, so finally I just made some. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to use up some spare veggies laying about. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 anise bulb, sliced 1 small onion, cut into rings 1/2 jalepeno, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil salt to taste 1 cup yellow potato, cubed 2 cups cubed and peeled eggplant 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into quarters 1 cup lentils 3 - 4 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon each: clove, cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 preserved lemon, diced 1 roma tomato, chopped 1 cup mixe
Read more

Bergamot Curd

Image
As promised, here is the curd recipe. This is perfect for scones, toast, just to eat, or for an unusual twist on the filling typically used in those little fruit tarts. If bergamots are not available to you, you could always use lemon, Seville orange, sweet types of orange (cut the sugar a bit though), lime, pomello, grapefruit or any other citrus. Enjoy! 9 ounces freshly squeezed bergamot juice 2 tablespoons finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon bits Whisk all but butter into a saucepan. Begin to heat over medium low heat and add all the butter. Whisking periodically, cook until the whisk marks stay in the curd. Pack into sterilised jars (or you can just put this in a jar and put it in the fridge, if you don't want to can it) and process 15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
Read more