photo courtesy of Sanctuary T Shop
Contest details: Until September 30th, Sanctuary T Shop will be hosting a tea-inspired recipe contest.
Prize: The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Sanctuary T Shop and have their winning recipe featured on the Shop’s site. The runner up will win a free bottle of T-Dust Seasoning and a 2oz tin of tea of their choice.
Full contest/submission details at: http://www.shopsanctuaryt.com/recipecontest
Good luck!
Hailing from the Mediterranean, peppermint leaves have a regal history, as they once decorated the brows of ancient Greek and Roman personalities. Over the years, the minty sensations of peppermint made its way into the drinking cups of people looking for a refreshing beverage. Today, the natural, caffeine-free taste of peppermint tea is a popular way for drinkers to relax or ease into their nighttime slumber.
Peppermint Tea Blends
The distinct flavor of peppermint tea creates an array of blends that satisfy tea drinkers seeking a light, aromatic beverage. Sometimes, peppermint tea brews strong and goes well with honeybush chocolate or vanilla in order to tone down the flavor. Other peppermint tea combinations include Chocolate Peppermint (from Stash Teas), Ginger-Peppermint (Alvita Teas), Mint Medley (spearmint and peppermint blend from Bigelow), Organic Chai Peppermint (Uncle Lee’s Teas), and Lemon Peppermint (Bonkers Super Skinny Tea).
How to Make Fresh Peppermint Tea
Consumed hot or cold, peppermint tea is made by steeping the dried leaves of the plant in boiling water. If you have a garden, you’re in luck. Select a few worthy peppermint leaves from your plants and lay out on a tray in one large heap – placed in direct sunlight. Rip the leaves several times and spread the leaves out to dry in the sun for 24 hours or longer. The leaves are ready when they are dry and crunchy. Boil water and pour over about two tablespoons of dried peppermint leaves. Cover and let steep for 10 to 20 minutes. Add about five fresh bruised leaves the liquid, and then strain into your cup.
The Health Benefits of Peppermint Tea
In addition to providing a tasty experience, peppermint tea also delivers a host of health benefits to drinkers. Peppermint differs from other mints because it contains a volatile oil with healing properties. The tea offers the strength and advantages of menthol (a therapeutic component), as well as 40 other compounds. People often drink the tea after dinner because it aids in digestion and can curb acid reflux. Other benefits of peppermint tea include:
Today I’d like to introduce you to a Gourmet Tea Company I have recently discovered: Language of the Leaf.
Language of the Leaf searches for the best gourmet teas from around the world to help you create memorable tea experiences.
Their exclusive tea blends are available in silken tea bags, decorative tins and as loose teas.
Drinking gourmet tea is one of the few affordable luxuries these days. With over 100 blends available, there’s a delicious tea for all tastes at Language of the Leaf.
We encourage you to sample their exclusive tea blends. Get a free gourmet tea sample from Language of the Leaf by signing up for their emailling list.
They have a wide range of white, green
, black
, oolong
, Rooibos
, herbal and flavored teas. Teas are sold in air-tight resealable pouches to preserve the flavor and aroma of the tea.
Their exclusive tea blends include Queen of Siam, Summer Fling (Iced Tea), South Pacific, Calm, Bali Breeze, Bombay Chai, Rooibos Sunset, Wuyi Oolong and many more.
Need a gift? Their unique tea samplers are best-sellers. Try the anti-aging tea sampler, the spa tea sampler or the wellness herbal sampler.
For a more traditional tea experience, consider their breakfast sampler set, their flavored black tea sampler or flavored green tea sampler set.
Language of the Leaf also sells tea cups, pots, strainers and Smart Tea Makers.
While many retailers sell wedding tea favors, Language of the Leaf is one of the few retailers to offer gourmet tea favors.
The Elegant Wedding Favor is packaged in a Silver Pouch, which is personalized with the names of the Bride and Groom and the date of the wedding.
The Beautiful Picture Favor is a reusable silver tin adorned with a photo of the Bride and Groom, along with their names and wedding date.
Favors are available in a wide variety of tea flavors, including their exclusive Wedding Blend.
For tea lovers, when it comes to enjoying a fresh tea, honey is one of the most common methods to sweeten your steaming cup of beverage bliss. However, the sticky sweetness is a magnet for messiness, which is why there are plenty of gadgets, kitchen tools, and decorative items that have evolved over the years for tea drinkers. If you’re unfamiliar with all that is available to you, consider the following ways to sweeten your tea with honey.
Honey Pots with Stirrers
When you’re entertaining family and friends with biscuits and a spot of tea, possessing a small honey pot with stirrer comes in handy. Honey pots not only cut down on the amount of mess made, but also add a decorative touch to your teatime spread. Oftentimes, these convenient containers are in the shape of a beehive, but not always. Creative honey pot designers have included Winnie the Pooh, Dutch windmills, and Easter eggs shapes.
Shatterproof Containers
If you’d like to lessen your chances of having a sticky mishap during teatime, avoid honey containers made out of glass and opt for shatterproof vessels. For example, Granja San Francisco Honey comes in a shatterproof beehive-shaped container, which conveniently pours from the bottom – no drips or leftover stickiness. This particular brand of premium honey is made and packaged in Spain. The bottle shown is of Granja San Francisco Rosemary and Lavender Honey
Honey Sticks
Forgo the honey pot and the stirrer for honey sticks – perfect for individual use. Simply open the straw and stir the honey into your cup of tea. Today, honey sticks also come in a variety of flavors, including peach, amaretto, cinnamon, lemon, and mint. The compact size of the honey stick also makes an excellent travel companion for when you need an on-the-go sweetener.
Easy-to-Pour Bottles
Usually made out of plastic, choose easy-to-pour bottles that use a squeeze or squirt action to deliver a blast of honey to your cups of tea.
Honey Spoons
When you’d like the honey to simply drip or ooze into your cup, a honey spoon offers a unique (crooked) design comprised of stainless steel that balances on the edge of your teacup. There is another type of honey spoon to consider, as seen in the Tupelo Honey Flavoring Spoons
Honey Dippers
Generally made out of wood and shaped like a beehive at the end of a long stick, a honey dipper is an inexpensive way to easily transfer honey from a jar to a cup. Some selections have been known to cost only $1.99.
As one of the most popular beverages in the world, tea comes in a variety of flavors and origins – from soothing chamomile to the antioxidant power of green tea. What many people don’t know is that cooking with tea is not a new concept. In fact, the ancient Chinese stuffed fish with dried pungent oolong leaves before steaming, boiled eggs with tea leaf water, and added tea leaves to their fires when smoking duck. If you’re looking for creative ways to incorporate tea into the way you prepare food, consider the following suggestions:
As a Dessert
From shortbread cookies to tea biscuits, green tea has found a place in many recipes for desserts. For instance, green tea powder (called matcha) is an ingredient used in a range of Japanese-style sweets. Some bakers and chocolate makers will incorporate green tea into
their recipes. One example is the Organic Chocolate Green Tea Bar
As a Marinade
Leftover tea makes a decent marinade for dishes with meat. Marinade your chicken breasts with tea possessing a distinct flavor, such as Earl Grey, to create an aromatic dish. Some vegetarians have even marinated their tofu in tea before serving. It’s also suggested to explore the aromatic distinction of East Indian teas, which offer hints of cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and lemongrass.
As a Meat Tenderizer
Avoid tough cuts of meat by using tea as a tenderizer. Experiment with different flavors, such as rooibos tea – also known as ‘red’ tea.
As a Spicy Rub or Coating
If you grind tea leaves (such as oolong) in a pepper mill and combine with white pepper, you can create a savory rub for pork chops and steak – perfect for enhancing Asian-style dishes. Coat your meat, fish, or poultry with dried tea leaves to create a crunchy texture and appealing flavor. Poultry and seafood usually respond well to smoked teas.
As a Rice Enhancer
Don’t have aromatic rice to serve as a side dish? Create your own by adding a bit of tea (like Jasmine) to create varying levels of flavor and fragrances. Since tea is an edible leaf, you may also add to rice to produce interesting dishes. For example, some teas possess an earthy taste comparable to spinach.
Calling all avid travelers! If you like browsing artistic collections of teapots or exploring the history of infamous caffeinated brews around the world, then you may enjoy the following museums, which focus on coffee and tea.
Trenton Teapot Collection – Tennessee
From a teapot shaped like an elephant with gold accents to one depicting a mermaid, the Trenton Teapot Collection is credited with carrying the largest collection of Porcelain Veilleuse-Theieres (also known as “night-light teapots”) in the world. Specimens date between 1750 and 1860 with some hailing from India, France, Spain, and Italy – highlighting significant cultural details. It is free to take in the colorful sights of the highly creative teapots. Located in Trenton, Tennessee, the city also hosts a teapot festival.
Kona Coffee Museum and Farm – Hawaii
For a taste of Big Island coffee production, the Uchida Coffee Farm (located south of Kealakekua town on the Kona Coast) offers a tour with guides dressed in period costumes. The original farmhouse, bathhouse, coffee mill and drying platforms await your curiosity.
Coffee Museum – Santos, Sao Paulo
Located at the Official Coffee Exchange in the port city of Santos, you will find the Coffee Museum – dedicated to coffee in Brazil. A historic architectural sight in itself, the Museum is part of a short tour that costs about $1 and runs every 30 minutes. A vintage streetcar starts in front of José Bonifácio Palace and takes you throughout the downtown area, where you can walk over to the Museum and visit at the end of your sightseeing.
Highlights of the museum include the imported marble floor of the Trading Room, the striking stained glass panel on the ceiling of the Trading Room, the coffee scales, and the chance to purchase special coffees at the gift shop. If you’re lucky, you can arrange to attend the three-day barista course held at the Museum that takes place every month for a fee of $180.
Museum of Coffee Technology – Germany
If you enjoy the technical side of making coffee just as much as drinking it, you may want to check out the Museum of Coffee Technology in Emmerich, Germany. It is here that you’ll encounter a collection of about 600 household coffee mills – many of which are fascinatingly decorative. A great deal of roasters is on the premises, highlighting items from 1884 to the 20th century. Large and small commercial and industrial grinders are also on display.
National Tea Museum – China
Possessing the longest history in the world of tea, China is often considered its birthplace. Interestingly, the National Tea Museum claims the only attraction of its kind that offers a tea theme. Opened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1991, the Museum is quite unique, as there are no external walls, but instead – vegetation serves as its boundaries. The history and development of tea in China is separated into four different groups of buildings.
For example, step into the exhibition building to find six halls devoted to the history of growing and processing tea throughout the country: Hall of Tea History, the Kaleidoscope Hall, the Hall of Tea Properties, the Tea-friendship Hall, the Tea Sets Hall, and the Tea Customs Hall. Visit the Kaleidoscope Hall to browse more than 300 kinds of tea. It’s a learning experience that also includes conferences centered on tea culture, tea art performances, as well as a chance to sample a variety of teas.
Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum – London, England
Located in London, England, The Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum is known as the first museum in the world to completely devote its exhibits to the history of tea and coffee. Covering more than 400 years of commercial and social history, it’s been educating and enlightening tourists since 1992. A visit to the museum brings you close to the London Bridge station and Borough Market, where it is open daily. Onsite, there is a tearoom that serves coffee and tea to guests for a price. Enjoy Cream Tea (including scones with clotted cream and jam, cake and tea of your choice for £7) or Afternoon Tea (with cucumber sandwiches, hot crumpet, tea cake, cake and choice of tea for £9). At last check, the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum was undergoing refurbishment, so it would be a good idea to call before planning a visit (020 7403 5650).
