teaspoons & petals

tea today: herbal tisanes from the garden

As steamy summer days mingle with the passing showers, my growing garden is overflowing with delectable herbs. Beyond making a brief appearance in my meals, I’ve pushed these garden delights to center stage just by steeping them throughout the day. Herbal tea, otherwise known as herbal tisanes (the term for herbal infusions that don’t contain tea leaves), can be a treat to the palate and the body, offering distinct flavors and health benefits without caffeine.

Whether your garden is bursting with herbs or you found fresh bunches at the farmer’s market, take the time to steep and explore the incredible array of flavors. While I experiment with the harvest from my urban garden of mint, sage, rosemary, pineapple sage, parsley, basil and lavender, I’m already anticipating next year’s additions of lemon verbena and thyme. With such an incredible array of herbs within reach, the possibilities are endless!

Before you unite your herbs in a homemade blend, I recommend taking time to experience each individual steep to explore the flavors that suit your palate. Simply rinse the herbs and steep them in boiling water for at least 5-10 minutes to allow the flavor to make its mark in the water (although feel free to extend the steep for a stronger taste). Once you’ve discovered what herbs really make your taste buds tick, let your culinary imagination soar as you experiment with blends.

No need to worry if you don’t have a teapot with a filter. Simply steep the herbs in a pot of boiling water and use a strainer to remove the leaves/flowers. And if you’re hesitant to brew an entire pot, simply fill an individual paper filter bag with the herbs, place it in the cup and add boiling water (perfect for herbal tisanes on the go, too!) Voila! Your water is now transformed into a refreshing sip. What a fabulous time to reap the benefits of summer’s natural beauties!

And if you like to soak in the sweeter side of life, you might consider making a simple syrup infused with your favorite herb. I recommend a lavender simple syrup for a mint tisane.

Although I like to sip a single herb, I tend to steep a variety of fresh herbal blends. A few of my favorite herbal pairings:

lavender/basil

basil/mint

basil/mint/sage

lavender/sage

rosemary lemonade

what herbal blends are you steeping?

{photo credit fishyee}

tea today: lady grey cocktail at adsum

 

I anxiously anticipated the grand opening of Adsum, a refined neighborhood bistro in the Queen Village section of Philadelphia. An online preview of the cocktail menu sent me into a joyful tizzy, when I discovered that two would be infused with tea. On the Friday after the opening, I skipped over to snag the only open seat at the busy bar.

Although I was tempted to order both tea connected cocktails, I opted to choose one for now and save the other for a rainy day (or any other form of weather). Without even looking at the menu I asked Preston Eckman, (the talented bar manager and creative cocktail connoisseur who dreamed up the imaginative menu) for a Lady Grey.

Lady Grey {cognac, orange oils, vanilla bean, earl grey syrup, fresh lemon, crème yvette, egg white}

The bold cognac anchored each sip with its slight citrus flavors. The refreshing warmth of the brandy was brightened by fresh lemon and orange oils. I can only imagine that the citrusy bergamot oils within the earl grey syrup intensified the bright flavors. (Inquiring minds might like to know that the Earl Grey was from Harney & Sons) I was pleased to taste the strength of the bergamot rather than a briskness of the black tea in the earl grey syrup, which might have added a strong kick of black tea tannins that would have sent this sip in the wrong direction. The crème yvette rounded out the rich experience with its all natural fruity blend.

Beyond the taste of the delicious  summer sip, the cocktail was a visual delight. The amber glow of the rested gently under a delicate egg white foam. The curled wisp of orange rind (which was fragrantly shaved from the fruit right right in front of me) delicately hung on the edge of the glass. Overall, the bold warmth of the cognac and refreshing citrus bursts welcomed me to my weekend sip by sip.

As I dream of Lady Grey, I’m awaiting my next tea cocktail on their list: Logical Consequence {gin, green tea, dill, lime, honey, splash of absinthe}. It only seems logical to return ASAP. Cheers to Adsum on their fabulous opening weekend!

sip & style: children's tea party

The classrooms are quiet and the warm summer nights seem to be be louder than ever with the laughter of children. School's out! In celebration of their sweet freedom, why not throw a summer tea party?

Childlike celebrations don't need to lack style. Add a bit of vintage whimsy with this cotton baker's delight kid's apron covered in their favorite sweet treat. Pair this sweet style with cupcakes baked and ready-to-eat in this teacupcakes bake-and-serve mold.

Serve herbal tisanes and teach their taste buds to appreciate fresh tastes of unique decaffeinated treats, like a hibiscus lemonade, mint limeade (mint, lime juice, honey, water), and even a vanilla rooibos. Show them how to steep and ice their treats and fill a few plates with their favorite cupcakes. Voila! The perfect tea party to celebrate their sunny summer days.

tea today: iced tea urban garden party

As summer days seem to swirl past me, I decided to slow it down and savor a few sips of iced tea with friends on the last day in June (and national iced tea month). Prior to the ice and steep, I plucked a few mint leaves and lavender buds in my urban garden (where concrete meets green).

After spending an hour or so contemplating the taste, color and caffeine of several chilly teas, I settled on earl grey with homemade lavender simple syrup, Moroccan mint with additional fresh mint from the garden and local honey, hibiscus lemonade, and white rose. I steeped each tea in my go-to (and overly used) bodum iced tea infuser/pitcher, carefully poured the vibrant liquor into my newly purchased glass bottles from Ikea, and set them in the fridge to slowly chill. These fabulous glass bottles offer a simple beauty, and are incredibly practical with a stopper that seals like a charm (to-go iced tea perfect for an iced tea picnic). 

After each tea had chilled, I quickly cut corners from greeting card envelopes, wrote the name of each tea on the pastel paper, strung them on twine, and tied them around the neck of each bottle. I purposely tagged each tea so that friends could calmly make their choice. As the teas and simple syrup chilled in the fridge, I cut out the printed "t" "e" "a" letters and strung them on a piece of twine to hang outside (see above). The tea banner gently danced in the wind on that summer evening as June faded out and July easily blew in with the breeze.

Before I share the little details about each tea at the urban garden party, here are my thoughts on the proper way to turn hot tea into a chilly sip. I believe there are two ways to go, slow & steady and fast & ready:

1. Allow tea to cool to room temperature and then add ice. By allowing the tea to cool prior to adding the ice, you will achieve a balanced flavor rather than a watered-down flavor, which can occur as the ice instantly melts. You will only need a few cubes to chill this treat now.
2. Although if you want a quick cup and are in a rush, just double the amount of tea suggested and steep accordingly. Once the tea has finished steeping, pour the warm tea over a glass/pitcher filled to the brim with ice. By doubling the amount of tea, you will balance out the flavor as the ice quickly melts in the glass. Make sure to use plenty of ice so that the tea quickly cools.

FYI-I tend to lean towards option one, because I prefer to not use twice the tea to make a tea concentrate.

 

I gently steeped the white rose (Organic bai mu dan, organic rose petals and organic chrysanthemum) with water just under boiling for 4 minutes. The floral essence of the rose and chrysanthemum blended rather well with the fresh, grassy notes of the bai mu dan. The golden liquor glowed in the evening sun.

The earl grey 4 minute steep yielded a brisk, citrusy taste that blended well with the sweet lavender essence from the homemade simple syrup. This hearty tea (perfect for steamy summer days) was slightly softened by the floral taste.

To move beyond the floral tastes of the previous teas and offer an herbal, iced blend, I opted to make a hibiscus lemonade. Once you make (or buy) your lemonade base (sugar, lemon, water), simply steep a few hibiscus blossoms in a cup or two of heated lemonade. Add hibiscus/lemonade mixture to the remaining cups of lemonade and mix. The hibiscus blossoms intensify the bright, tart flavors of the lemonade and add a gorgeous, glowing red color to the liquor.

For the Moroccan mint, I steeped the gunpowder green and dried mint blend with a few sprigs of fresh mint from the garden for 3 minutes. After removing the tea blend, I allowed the mint leaves to dance in the warm liquor as I stirred in a few teaspoons of local honey. This sweet traditional treat cools the body with its naturally refreshing mint.

As the evening sun turned to twilight glow and my friends made their way home to greet July in the morning, I took a few last sips in my urban garden and gathered the leftover bottles of tea that I would later turn into tea granita (my favorite way to extend a chilly sip).

Here's to a summer filled with iced tea celebrations! What's your favorite tea to ice and sip on sunny summer days & nights?

tea sweets: sara's thoughts on van leeuwen's earl grey tea ice cream

{before you take your first sip of this tea sweets post, I wanted to introduce you to my dear friend, sara. considering that she is a fabulous writer and is passionate about tea and artisan foods, (we often spend hours chatting about new teas, recipes and the cooking channel), I asked her to write a few guest posts for teaspoons & petals. so without further adieu, introducing sara's thoughts on van leeuwen's earl grey tea ice cream}

If you go to the website for Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and scan their menu of tempting flavors, you won’t find the flavor whose mere name makes my mouth water for its delicately blended balance of ingredients. It’s elusive! Only offered to royalty! Completely unattainable! Thank goodness no, since you can track the van’s Manhattan and Brooklyn locations via twitter.

I first stumbled upon the butter-yellow colored van on an early hot day in April. Drawn in by the menu list, whose font and illustrations reminded me of wildlife field guides, I smiled at flavors like Red Currant sourced from the Hudson Valley, Sicilian Pistachio and Piedmont Hazelnut. And then I saw it: Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream. Yes, please.

Let’s pause for a minute to pay homage to another tea turned cream delicacy: Green Tea Ice Cream. Its flavor, whether bitter (my preference) or sweet, forest- green dark or lightly mint colored, brings me back to childhood and one of the first times my taste buds sang. It held my attention because it so perfectly captured a hot item into a cold treat while preserving the unique flavor, even tweaking it slightly by the inclusion of foreign ingredients (cream, sugar).

Seeing this ice cream as a cousin to my childhood standby, my expectations for the Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream were high. Unlike Green Teas, Earl Grey lends itself to a little milk and sugar, so I knew the taste would rest on Van Leeuwen’s choice of how to balance the three components: tea, milk, sugar. The combination is spot-on.

The lovely, smoky flavor of the tea comes through right before your taste buds are calmed and quickly wrapped in a creamy blanket with just a hint of sweetness. The sugariness is not at all overpowering, nor is that milky flavor. The dark flavor and bergamot notes we love in Earl Grey Tea come through without bitterness- no over-steeping in this brew! The color is exactly what you would expect- the soft grey of Earl Grey tea once the milk hits the brew and swirls with the deep brown into a smooth, ashen shade, in this case almost lavender.

A perfect bite (or sip) for me is one that simultaneously immerses me in the present moment of flavor and nudges at memories of earlier experiences with it. I hope this summer allows you to have that moment more than once, perhaps in your next bite of ice cream.

raise your glass to the 4th of july: hibiscus lemonade

As we bid adieu to June and National Iced Tea Month, we happily welcome another celebration in the U.S., the 4th of July. Why not steep a sip to honor this patriotic day? I recommend blending hibiscus blossoms with a white tea that will yield a vibrant, red liquor. The delicate white base will allow the hibiscus flavor profile to shine through.

Although if you would prefer to steep and ice a sip without caffeine, you might try a hibiscus lemonade (shown above). After squeezing your heart out and finishing the lemonade base, simply take a cup of the sweet & sour treat from the pitcher and heat it in a small pot on the stove. Once the lemony liquid begins to steam, remove it from the heat and add a few hibiscus blossoms. Allow to steep for 10 minutes  and then strain and cool before adding the glowing liquor to the rest of the lemonade.

The tart hibiscus blends ever so perfectly with the lemonade, intensifying its bright and bold flavors.

Happy 4th of July!

tea talk: paula from pinkbow

Within the past few months, my sense of style has been drawn to everything French. Maybe it's the delicate dresses, or whimsical shades of pastel mint & blue, but the Parisian aesthetic seems to linger in my thoughts. I've dreamed of sipping tea and nibbling on sweets at Laduree (le sigh). 

Fortunately, I stumbled upon the fabulous PinkBow blog, which fed my hunger for elegance with beautiful photographs of tea & teaware that seemed to capture the very Parisian aesthetic that I craved (I would later learn that the blog was based in the UK, and now am dreaming of a trip to London and Paris).

Intrigued to learn a bit more about the lovely lady behind the wondrous photos and posts, I reached out to Paula of PinkBow and inquired about her dream tea party. You could only imagine how high my heart jumped for joy, when the talented UK blogger shared some of her photos as well... Many thanks to Paula for taking the time to share her thoughts on teaspoons & petals!

At your ideal tea party....

What teas would you steep?

Anything by Laduree – I especially love their Rose and Marie Antoinette teas. I never tire of trying new teas and buying new tea accessories.

What food would you serve?

Always a selection of cakes and pastries to satisfy my sweet tooth. The only criteria – they must be pretty to look at and they must be sweet.

What would you wear?

A pretty vintage dress which is feminine and denotes a past era.

 

Where would it be/what would it look like?

I love old fashioned tea shops like Laduree, or there are many old stately homes near to where I live that serve Afternoon Tea. Or in a dream-world, I would be served sumptuous pastries somewhere within the Palace of Versailles!

Do you have a favorite teacup or teapot?

I recently bought this Wedgwood teapot but returned it. Even though I love it, it was a little small, so I am still on the hunt for the perfect style. And I just adore collecting mismatched vintage bone china, I am building quite a collection.