When I first Googled “tea smoking,” most of the results pertained to a recreational activity that had nothing to do with barbecue, although they were pretty damn edgy. Tea-smoke cooking does involve the munchies, but it won’t mellow you out or treat your glaucoma. Sorry to disappoint. What it will do is give a unique flavor to your smoked meat.

This take on Chinese tea smoking was so straightforward, I only needed two plates for the ingredients. It’s a style of smoking that hails from China’s Sichuan (formerly Szechuan) region, which is known for its hot, spicy cuisine.

Serious Chinese food geeks may be familiar with Zhangcha duck—a tea-smoked Sichuan delicacy that’s a bitch to make but impressive as hell to anyone who’s never had it before.  I was going to make one for this article, but the cops at the park kicked me out of my blind and confiscated my shotgun before I could pick off the Mandarin Duck I wanted. Oh, well. It was from the wrong province of China anyway.

A ticket and a body cavity search later, I was at the supermarket looking for an alternative. Tea smoking a chicken sounded a little bland, they had no duck, and I’ve had bad luck with Cornish game hens in the past. That pretty well left me with pork—the other white meat. Swine and I have a long history together, going back to my college days at USC when my roommate Jim Skinner and I invented the leftovers festival affectionately known as Questionable Pork Day.  But that’s another story.

I headed home with 3 pounds of country-style pork ribs and got down to business. Because I’m a tea-smoking virgin (don’t spread that around, BTW), I kept things pretty simple. I started by mixing up the sauce, then let the ribs marinate in it for four hours.

Yes, I know. The smoking mix looks like potpourri. No, you can’t have my man card.

While that was going on, I created the tea mixture. It’s a combination of the tea, some brown sugar, dry rice, cinnamon sticks, and orange zest/peel. Most grocery stores have an Asian food section where you’ll find some inexpensive black Oolong tea; black teas are what’s used for this type of cooking. It’s great if you can find loose leaf tea but if not, cutting open a bunch of tea packets and pouring them into a measuring cup isn’t exactly brain surgery. The rice acts as filler to keep the tea burning longer. Cinnamon and orange zest are pretty standard ingredients for this sort of smoking. They provide aromatics in the smoke. You could also toss in some other whole spices—like fennel seeds or whole cumin—to put a different spin on the process. I made four batches of tea mixture: one loose in a bowl and the others wrapped in aluminum foil pouches. Leave a gap on top of each pouch for the smoke to escape.

Three hours later I was off to my charcoal smoker.  I hot-smoked the ribs over a water pan, adding fresh tea mix to the coals every half hour. First I tried pouring loose mix onto the coals, but it burned faster than a telemarketer in the afterlife. The packets worked great, though. Since the smoker was open anyway, I also brushed more sauce on my ribs during these little interludes. Yes, I know it adds 20-30 minutes to the cooking time whenever you pop open your smoker, but I had all day and figured the taste would be worth it.

While potpourri and tea smoke mix share some ingredients, here’s the difference—potpourri comes in a sack, Szechuan tea smoking has one.

And I was right. The sauce alone turned the ribs into salty, sweet, deliciousness with a spicy kick. The smoke was distinctly different than the wood chip variety I’ve come to know and love. It has a much more herbal kick to it than hardwood smoke. I’m definitely making this again. Hell, I may even go crazy and share it with other people next time.

Tea-Smoked Country Style Pork Ribs
This is the recipe I used for my rib experiment.  For as simple as it is, I loved it.

Rib Sauce
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry crushed chile pods
3 pounds country-style pork ribs

Smoking Packet Mix:
1/2 cup black tea leaves (roughly 17 teabags for you infidels)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup raw, long grain rice
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
4-6 slices of fresh orange rind, 1 inch wide and 2-3 inches long

Mix up the rib sauce, coat the ribs, and let them soak inside the fridge for three to five hours.  Meanwhile, mix up the smoking mix and prep your smoker. Once the coals are ready, you hot-smoke the ribs until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (this will take roughly two or three hours).  I made four packets of smoking mix and changed them every half hour while brushing more sauce onto the ribs.

Serves 2-3
Heat Scale Mild

Zhangcha Duck
This bad boy involves three different cooking processes, so if you’re a college kid living in a dorm or a creepy guy dwelling in Mom and Dad’s basement, chances are you don’t have the space to make this.

One 2 to 2 1/2-pound duck
1 1/2 tablespoons Sichuan pepper*
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons rice wine
1/2 cup black tea leaves (preferably Oolong)

First you want to clean the duck and open a slit about 3 ½ inches long at the back of it so you can remove the guts. Then, mix everything but the duck and the tea. Marinate the duck in that concoction in the fridge for several hours. Place the duck into boiling water to tighten the hide. This ensures that your duck will have a crispy skin after you’re done cooking it. While that’s going on, you should start preheating enough vegetable oil or peanut oil in a separate pan to deep-fry the duck later on. Drain the water from the duck, and move it over to your heated wok. The tea sits in the bottom of the wok while you smoke the duck in it for 10-15 minutes. After that, steam the duck for 10 more minutes. Think you’re done? Not quite. Let the duck cool off, then deep-fry it in the oil until the skin is crisp. It goes great with rice, veggies, and Chinese dumplings.

Serves 2-4
Heat Scale: Medium

Tea-Smoked Sichuan (or Szechuan) Bacon
Anything that is good for smoking pork ribs has to be worth a go for bacon. Here’s my take on what might be a cool Chinese twist on my favorite breakfast meat.

1 5-pound slab of pork belly, skin on, neatly trimmed
2 tablespoons Sichuan pepper*
2 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons Morton’s Tender Quick or equivalent pink salt cure
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Mix up all the non-swine ingredients and use the mixture as a rub on all surfaces of the pork belly. Place it in the fridge inside a Ziploc bag or in a covered, non-reactive container just large enough to hold the pork belly. Flip the belly every day for seven days, then wash it off, and let it dry on a rack in the fridge overnight. Hot-smoke it the next day until it reaches 165 degrees F. at its thickest point. Then, remove the skin while the finished bacon is still warm.

Serves up to 8 people
Heat Scale Mild to Medium

*Note: this is not a chile pepper, nor is it related to black pepper. This from Wikipedia:
Sichuan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour that is not hot or pungent like black or white pepper, or chili peppers. Instead, it has slight lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness in the mouth (caused by its 3% of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that sets the stage for hot spices. According to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking (second edition, page 429), they are not simply pungent; “they produce a strange tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or of a mild electrical current (touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue). Sanshools appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once to induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive. So theoretically, this may cause a kind of general neurological confusion.” Woot!

Tea, and especially Darjeeling tea, spells magic for me. It’s the world’s most expensive tea, one with an intensely exotic flavour; Darjeeling is to tea, what Champagne is to wine. Many a summer vacation has been spent in the tea gardens, sipping this “champagne of teas”.

And although I personally prefer my tea unadulterated, there is enough to suggest it is a heady concoction when mixed with a few strains of alcohol.

Interestingly though, one can actually combine tea with alcohol. Not many are aware that tea mixed with alcohol proves to be a potent stimulant. A splash of your favourite alcoholic beverage in tea can be a great combination. The aroma is so strong that a whiff is enough to intoxicate the senses. Depending upon the blend of tea one is using, a variety of liquors including vodka, rum and whisky can be paired with it.

Rum might be a safer choice to begin with, though I know for a fact some have even tried vodka and tea. Not many know that the content of monoterpene alcohol — present in the essential oils of plants — in Darjeeling tea is five times higher than other Indian teas. So it’s already quite potent!

But if you are planning to marry the two beverages, then be a little more creative. Pour your drinks in elegant, funky glasses, add bright stirrers and serve them with colourful garnishes. Basically, the cocktail is likely to be termed rather eccentric and many purists might turn their noses at it, so at least have fun as you serve it. They too may give in.

Preparing the perfect cup of Darjeeling tea is important. It is an elaborate ritual and you cannot afford to go wrong. Your palate is the best guide when having a cupful. But make sure you go about preparing it the right way. Ensure you use fresh water each time while you boil. Never add tea leaves to the boiling water. Pour the tea into a teapot, one teaspoon of tea leaves per cup, add it to the boiled water in the pot. Steep it for about five minutes or so.

Strain the brew into your cup and the tea is ready. Generally, tea is consumed black, but milk or sugar may be added as per choice. A useful tip: Never boil Darjeeling Tea directly, as it will cook the leaves and make the tea bitter. If you are adventurous, add any type of alcohol.

The author is a food writer.

The fourth and final madeleine recipe from the book… you can tell Dorie lives in Paris!  The original recipe calls for an Earl Grey tea infusion to give these cookie/cakes flavor, but I usually only have one or two types of tea kicking around my cupboard at a time, and the Earl wasn’t one of them.  So I used chai (from a teabag actually…I tore the bag open and sprinkled the bits into my hot butter to infuse; then I put it through a very fine strainer to remove any sediment).  I thought the chai spices would be nice with the honey that was already in the ingredient list.

I could really taste the tea in here.  They were delicious, and I amped up the spicing even more by tossing them in a cardamom sugar while they were still warm.  I made big, full-sized madeleines… I didn’t really get the pronounced madeleine bump with these, but they had rounded backsides and great texture and taste, so I guess I don’t mind so much.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Green tea powder can be used for many dessert items including green tea ice cream (of which I am sure everyone has experienced at the various hibachi grills around town) as well as smoothies, buttercream frosting, cookies and more. Of course, there has to be a mention of all the health benefits that experts say range from cancer fighting agents to helping your heart. Purchase green tea powder, also known as Matcha.

No-bake cheesecakes are very simple to make and have a much lighter texture than their “New York”-style counterparts. They are folded with whipped cream as opposed to being baked with eggs. These cheesecakes only have to refrigerate for 3 hours instead of overnight so you can make it the same day you serve it.

Most holiday desserts come in fall colors as well as white. This cheesecake makes a beautiful green addition. Serving it with raspberry sauce gives it a definite holiday twist. With its mousse–like texture, it offers a nice option to the other textures of pies and cakes.

Green Tea Cheesecake

1.5 sleeves of Lorna Doone shortbread cookies of a 10 oz box

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 cup whipping cream

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

2/3 cup whole milk

1.5 tsp green tea powder

2 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 Tbap water

Fresh raspberries, to garnish

Pour sugar into a food processor. Cover with a dish towel. (Sugar dust is very fine and can escape easily.) Whirl the sugar for a few minutes until superfine. Pour into a bowl and set aside. This step is important. Granulated sugar will taste grainy in this recipe.

Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.  Place the cookies in a food processor and process to a fine crumb. Add melted butter and process until combined. Pour the cookies crumbs into the springform pan on top of the parchment paper. Use a flat bottom cup and press the crumbs into place. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line the sides of the springform pan with parchment paper. Cut two strips about 4 inches wide and place them like a ring on top of the cookie crumbs. This will keep the cheesecake from sticking to the sides of the pan.

Whip the whip cream until peaks form and set in refrigerator until ready to use. In a separate bowl cream the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the superfine sugar until combined.

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Immediately remove from heat so it won’t scald. Add the green tea powder. Whisk until completely incorporated with no lumps. If lumps persist, use the back of spoon and smashed them against the side of the pan.

Mix the gelatin and water in a small bowl until dissolves. Whisk into the milk. Make sure the gelatin is liquid when adding to the milk. If not, microwave it for a few seconds. If it is not liquified, it will not incorporate into the milk. Pour milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture and blend. Set the bowl in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until almost set. Fold in the whipped cream and pour into prepared springform pan. Chilled for 3 hours. When ready to serve, release the springform pan girdle and gently slide the cheesecake using the bottom parchment paper onto a plate.  Gently remove the parchment paper ring holding up the sides. Serve with raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

1 – 10 oz box of whole frozen raspberry in syrup thawed

Pour the contents of the box into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.

About this column: A local cook gets adventurous in this column, bringing you a fun recipe that features an ingredient found at a local ethnic market.

Commonly called Chai tea by westerners, a name which is kind of like saying ATM Machine, Masala Chai or Chai is a distinctive style of milk-based tea consumed through-out the Indian sub-continent and into southeast Asia. Chai has a warm spice note in combination with the heat and soothing properties from the warmed milk that make it very relaxing to consume. In India, chai is consumed at any time and weather. It is not only consumed with meals but is also commonly served to customer in shops (such as jewelry stores) or purchased from roadside vendors called chai wallahs.

» Recommended Chai: Yogic Chai

This drink is incredibly simple to make and is the perfect drink for a cold winter day. The recipe I am following was taught to me by my wife (who is from India), who learned it from her mother (who still lives in India). It is a more simple, everyday, home version of the chai encountered in Indian restaurants.

For those who are looking for a fun and easy alternative to the traditional holiday drinks. Try adding cinnamon and nutmeg to the ginger and cardamom for a festive, rich and warming holiday drink.

» Buy Loose Leaf Masala Chai, Chai Teabags or Masala Chai Mix at Chai Buyer

Step 1: Items Needed

-A small pot

-A tea strainer (or some other wire mesh strainer)

-Chai Tea Leaves – these are a special type of strong tea leaf where the tea leaves are cured in a way whichs causes them to curl up into a ball. These can easily be found at your local Indo/Pak grocery store for around $3-6/box (enough to last more than a year of daily tea making). They look a lot like peppercorns in the image I posted. Some common brands are Taj Mahal and Red Label.

-Milk – whole milk tastes better but skim is acceptable

-Sweetener – take your pick. You can use pretty much anything which can provide sweetness and withstand the heat. You can use sugar, brown sugar, molasses, Splenda, jaggery (a type of unprocessed brown sugar block commonly used in rural India) or any other sweeter of your choice.

-Spices – The spices used in chai vary greatly depending on the region and how complex or simple you want to make it. The spices used vary from rose to salt to fennel seeds and more. For a simple route to a more complex chai; you can purchase a Masala Chai Spice Mix at most Indo/Pak. In this instructable we will be making a more simple homemade version so we will be using either ginger root or cardamom (green or black is acceptable). The cardamom (like most other spices) can be purchased pretty inexpensively once again from your local Indo/Pak grocery store, especially in comparison to the cost of spices at American grocery stores. Do not substitute cadamom powder, it doesn’t have near the flavor and it won’t strain out as nicely.

Step 2: The Boil

Place your small pot on the stove and add one coffee cup (plus a bit extra to account for evaporation) of milk per person.

Prep your spices, depending on which of the spices you plan on using prepare as follows:

- Ginger: Cut the ginger into small pieces (around 1/4in or so) and crush them. You can also heat them a bit in the microwave to help release more of the juices. Then add to the milk.
- Cardamom pods: Crack open the cardamom pods using your method of choice. You only need to crack the pod open to expose the inside of the pod, you don’t need to extract the little seeds from it. These little seeds and the inside of the pod are where most of the flavor is. The black cardamom pods can be kind of difficult, while green cardamom is very easy. You can use a mortar and pestle to crack them, just remember you are not trying to turn it into ground cardamom. In lieu of a mortar and pestle, the easiest method is to turn a knife on it side on top of the pods and crack them with your hand. Kind of like breaking garlic cloves. For green cardamom, you can even crack them with your teeth if it will just be you drinking it. Once you have cracked the cardamom add it to the milk.Slowly heat your milk under low-medium heat until it begins a low boil. This one of those steps where slower is better. If you try to speed things up by using too high of a heat the milk will burn. This is a great tea to fix for your breakfast, I will get up, prep the milk and spices and throw it on the stove before taking a shower. By the time I get out of the shower and back in the kitchen the mixture is boiling properly
Keep in mind you will have some sections where the milk cooks to the bottom of the pan, this is normal. If these sections begin talking on a dark brown or black color, the milk is likely burnt and the taste will show up in the mixture.

Step 3: The Tea Leaves

Now that the milk is boiling, add the tea leaves. We usually use around a tablespoon or so of tea leaves per drink.

The milk will begin taking on a tannish coloration. Many times the boiling milk will form a skin on top and the tea leaves will get caught up in this. Just stir the boiling tea to break up the skin.

The longer you boil the stronger the tea flavor will be. Typically, you will stop at a light-to-medium tan color, somewhere close to light chocolate milk. This usually takes around 2-5 minutes.

Step 4: Strain, Consume, Enjoy!

OK, now the last step before drinking. You need to strain out all of the solids (tea leaves and spices).Place the tea strainer over the coffee cup, tilt the pot over the cup and strainer and pour. Hint: Do it in the sink because it WILL make a mess otherwise.

Discard the tea leaves and spice chunks in the trash or compost.

You will see the chai will have reached a nice rich tan color and a skin will have formed on the surface. Now you can drink it straight or add tea biscuits (aka cookies) or other assorted garnishes.

Enjoy!

Tiramisu in Italian means “pick me up”.  Traditionally, this famous dessert is made of ladyfingers dipped in a mixture of espresso and liquor, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, cream and mascarpone cheese and cocoa powder.  The texture is so soft and fluffy, hence, it’s called “pick me up”.

I’m sure many of you have tried this dessert at a restaurant or even made some at home.  If you’re a Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) lover, you’ve got to try this recipe out.  Even if you’re not a big time fan for Green Tea, this is still an amazing dessert.

So, why did I waited for almost a year to make this Matcha Tiramisu?  Actually, I have wanted to make them for a long while.  Unfortunately, I had a hard time tracking down the ladyfingers in the neighborhood markets.  I tried homemade ladyfingers and my Tiramisu turned out to be a mess!    Luckily, one of my good friends knew I was on the quest to hunt down the ladyfingers and she came to the rescue and got me a huge package!  I’ve made a few batches of the traditional Tiramisu and a couple of batches of these Matcha version and they all turned out amazing!  Thank you for the fingers, my dear friend! 

A message for my hubby: The past seven years has been nothing but amazing memories.  After having our first condo, changing of career, having two gorgeous kids, moving to another house, and starting an MBA together (yes, together because I feel like I’m taking the courses with you, Honey), I realized I love you more and more every day.  Thank you, my caring and loving husband for this amazing journey together.  I look forward to celebrate many more anniversaries, to accomplish many more milestones, and to grow old (if we’re not already old) with you together.  

Matcha Tiramisu Printable Recipe
Makes 9 by 5-inch
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup Matcha powder, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
12 to 14 Savaiordi ladyfingers

In a medium pot, fill with 2 inches of water, set a mixing bowl over the pot of water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer and reduce the heat to low.
Add egg yolks, salt and sugar to the mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture thicken and lighten. When lifting the whisk, the mixture should fall back on itself looks like thick ribbons. Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool.

In a small pot, bring the milk to a simmer, remove from heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of Matcha Powder and vanilla extract until melted and no lumps. Transfer to a shallow dish and let it cool slightly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until medium peak forms. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat mascarpone cheese until smooth. Gently fold the egg mixture into the mascarpone until incorporated. Then fold the cream mixture into the mascarpone mixture until well combined.

To assemble, line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wraps, allowing the excess to hang over the ends and sides. Quickly dip both sides of the ladyfingers in the Matcha mixture (just long enough to moisten the cookies without making them soggy) and place them on the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture on top of the cookies, smooth the surface and sprinkle the top with Matcha powder. Dip the remaining cookies and place on top of the cream. Spoon the remaining mascarpone mixture over the cookies. Smooth the top and fold the plastic wrap to cover the cream. Refrigerate for at least six hours, preferably overnight. Your patient will be rewarded. Before serving, dust with more Matcha powder and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Mele Cotte

Ingredients

1 lb pecans
¼ cup raw sugar (regular, granular sugar would work)
2 Tbsp. Strawberry Rhubarb (loose) tea (or preferred flavor/blend)
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 egg white
1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the pecans in a large bowl; set aside.

In a spice grinder, finely grind the sugar, tea and salt. Transfer the powder to an airtight container and set aside. (You will have more than you need for this recipe.)

In a small bowl, whisk egg white and water until combined and foamy. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Let stand for 10 minutes.

After the wait time, the sugar should have (mostly) dissolved. Stir again, and then pour over nuts. Toss to coat, stirring several times to glaze pecans. Transfer to baking sheet, in an even layer, and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until crisp. (To test, remove a few nuts from oven and let cool 3-4 minutes before tasting.) Store in airtight container. Yield: about 8 servings

Cook’s Notes:

• This will work with any flavor tea or spice
• Pecans can be substituted with other nuts of choice.
• Cooking time may vary according to climate and crunch preference.

Craft Passion

Tea leaf eggs [茶叶蛋] is one of my favorite snacks since the 80′s. I was attracted by the five-spice fragrance when I first walked into a Taiwanese Chinese Tea house in my hometown. I have to order one to try. The look of the tea leaf egg really surprised me, “Hey… it is cracking and I think it is HATCHING”!!!! I believe when you first see the photo of the tea leaf eggs I cooked, you will probably relate my reaction.

Now, tea leaf eggs is a common snack that we can find in most Chinese populated area and even inshopping complexes. You don’t have to find it, just smell it and you will know which shop or stall is selling it. Cooking tea leaf eggs isn’t difficult if you can get the spices, most Asian shops should have them, if not, you can get them from AsianSupermarket365.com.

If you love easy Chinese cooking, probably this is the best book you should buy, Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao. It is not merely a recipes book that provides recipes. This 144 pages recipes book full of bountiful photos and awesome information from utensils, ingredients, tips & tricks to basic cooking method. You will never get lost half way through cooking the recipes from this book, authored by Bee Yinn Low who owns a popular website Rasa Malaysia: Easy Asian Recipes.

After flipping though the book over and over again, I decided to cook this tea leaf eggs because it seems so easy and simple to follow. The most important thing is that I wanted to try out if I can get the same authentic tea leaf eggs taste ever savored in my taste bud. This recipe didn’t fail me and I will cook more for my family with this recipe book.

Recipe: Tea Leaf Eggs [茶叶蛋]

Recipe from: Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao
Makes: 12 eggs or serve 6 as an appetizer

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups (1 liter) water

12 large eggs

Tea Mixture
4 cups (1 liter) water ( I used 5 cups since I simmered the eggs for overnight)
3 heaping tablespoons Chinese puer tea leaf or black tea (I used Tie Guan Yin tea leaf 鐵觀音)
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
6 tablespoon soy sauce
3 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

METHOD:

• Add 4 cups (1 liter) of water to a pot and gently drop in the eggs. Make sure the water covers the eggs. Bring the water to boil over high heat. Boil until the eggs are cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the hard-boiled eggs from the boiling water and rinse them with cold running water. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell. Discard the water in the pot.
• To make the Tea Mixture, heat the water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and return to a boil.
• Transfer the eggs to the pot and boil the eggs with the Tea Mixture for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer the eggs for at least 2 hours. (I placed my them in a
  slow cooker and simmered for overnight.)
• Serve the eggs immediately or leave them in the Tea Mixture overnight to further develop the color and flavor. Tea Leaf Eggs are best served the next day.

By TANNIS TOOHEY

Some people do yoga to relax. Susan Ho bakes. It’s been that way since she was a child.

“I remember when I was really young… mixing ingredients together. I didn’t know whether it would taste good or bad, but it was always fun,” Ho says. Later, she entertained friends with culinary delights she brought to potlucks.

As the founder of Tea Aura Inc., these days Ho, 34, is often in a kitchen, whipping up innovative, mouth-watering baked goods.

Her Toronto-based company creates shortbread cookies infused with tea flavours, such as Rooibos Chai, Earl Grey or Chocolate Mint. The company’s tea leaf-shaped cookies are carried by 215 Canadian and 20 American boutiques.

While baking with tea is rare in North America, when Ho visits Taiwan, where her mother is from, she frequently sees tea-infused cakes, cookies and candy. She didn’t know of anyone baking a similar product in North America. She began to wonder, “Why don’t I?”

Before launching Tea Aura, Ho – who has a nutrition diploma from Centennial College – worked as a hospital research nutritionist. Moving to self-employment went smoothly, thanks in part to Ho’s participation in several programs that provide advice to budding entrepreneurs.

In 2007, Ho applied to the Ontario Self-Employment Benefit Program, which offers business classes, for help developing a business plan and support from a mentor. When Ho joined the program, she initially planned to open a tea shop where she would sell tea-flavoured cookies. While developing her business plan, she realized setting up a tea shop would require a large amount of capital. She switched her focus to starting a tea-flavoured cookie business, which had lower startup costs.

Ho brought her revised business plan to Enterprise Toronto, which provides free business plan consultations. A consultant suggested Ho contact the Toronto Food Business Incubator, a non-profit organization that runs a shared commercial kitchen for entrepreneurs. By April 2008, Ho was in the incubator’s kitchen twice a week developing recipes.

The Toronto Food Business Incubator, which has a table at the St. Lawrence Market where clients can sell their wares, also gave Ho a chance to test her products. In July 2008, a month before Tea Aura launched, Ho spent several Saturdays at the market selling her cookies.

“That was a confidence booster for me,” she says, “to see that people actually like my product and that people will actually pay for it.”

When it came to branding, Ho and her husband Charles Wu – Wu is a partner in the business and has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business – decided to position Tea Aura’s cookies as a high-end product. “You sit back with a cup of tea and relax with it rather than rushing out the door and grabbing a cookie,” Ho says.

The company’s cookies feature top-notch ingredients. For the lavender currant cookie, the lavender comes from Provence. The Matcha Green Tea that flavours another is imported from Japan. Every cookie is made with Ontario pure butter.

Ho and Wu wanted the packaging to reflect the luxurious nature of Tea Aura’s products. Tea Aura’s cookies come in a tin, which retails for $9, and two different size bags ($3 for the smaller bag, $7 for the larger one). Each features elegant writing and sophisticated design.

The cookies’ flavours and packaging appealed to retailers on both sides of the border. At first, Wu and Ho did all the sales and distribution themselves. Within a year, 50 stores carried Tea Aura products. Last fall they began to work with a Canadian distributor who quickly brought the number of stores that carry Tea Aura’s products to nearly 240, which helped the young business become profitable.

Tea Aura’s products are still made in the Toronto Food Business Incubator’s kitchen, where Ho rents space three days a week. Ho and Wu fill small orders themselves but for larger orders call on up to 10 part-time staff.

“We would love to be able to get into our own kitchen but financially, it would be a really big burden on us,” Ho says.

But there may come a time when the incubator kitchen is not big enough. Tea Aura is in talks with brokers interested in bringing the line to Europe and Japan. If Tea Aura secures overseas distribution the increased demand may eventually lead the company to set up its own kitchen.

The small company is thinking big regarding its product line, too. In the future, Ho hopes Tea Aura’s products will include savoury tea-flavoured chips, tofu and sauces. “Tea can go into anything,” she says.

A Perfect Cup of Tea on a Cold Morning. What better way to warm up than with a cup of hot tea. Emeril’s spiced orange tea will warm you right up. From the kitchen of Emeril Lagasse. Servings: 6-8 – Difficulty: Easy – Cook Time: 1-30 min

Ingredients

• Thinly peeled strips of orange peel, about 1/2-inch wide, from 1 orange
• 3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, about 6 large oranges
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small toe of fresh ginger, 1/2 ounce, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 3 Orange Pekoe teabags
• 1/2 cup sugar

Cooking Directions

In small pot combine the orange peel, orange juice, water, lemon juice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat. Add the tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve set over another pot or into a warmed tea pot. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 cups, 6 to 8 servings

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, courtesy MSLO, Inc.

Recipe Summary

Main Ingredients: orange, tea, ginger, lemon

Course: Drinks

I finally decided it was about time (as I started bread baking last November or so?) to try to develop my own recipe. And I chose the obvious.

With the reference of numerous other bread recipes, I ended up with my Sweet Green Tea Bread. (The glaze was stolen and slightly altered from Beth Henspengers Sweet Vanilla Challah (so good!!) in her book Bread for All Seasons)

Anyhow, here was how it was supposed to go:

Sweet Green Tea Bread

Preferment:
1 tbsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water or milk
1 cup all purpose flour Dough
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp green tea leaves
1 cup strongly brewed green tea (with or without the tea leaves)
1 well beaten egg
3 tbsp very soft butter

Glaze:
1 egg yolk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp sugar Sesame seeds (optional)

Preferment:
Mix the yeast, warm milk or water and flour together, set aside ½ hour minutes.

Glaze:
blend ingredients, set aside.

Dough:
In a large bowl blend the flour, sugar and salt. Grind half of the green tea into powder. Blend the (dry) green tea into the (liquid) green tea, add egg and let it sit for a few moments until the (dry) green tea is soft. Add the green tea mixture into the dry ingredients and then beat in the butter, lastly mix in sponge. Knead with generously floured surface and hands until smooth and satiny (or until whenever you think it is ready- it was more of a guess on my amateur behalf). First rise- until double in bulk. Second rise- mostly degas, shape into one large loaf or two small ones and let the dough rise until double in bulk again.

Bake:
Glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds before putting in the oven preheated to 350ºF (with a preheated pan in bottom). Pour water in the pan and spray the oven walls and bake for around 30-50 minutes. Looks just like one big cha sui bao! (Chinese barbaque pork bun)

And… here was how it really went. I forgot to put in the butter and went very much off schedule for near the ending moments of the final rise I ended up having to leave the poor bread on its own for around three hours… although I did pop it in the cellar to try to slow rising! Despite that it turned out wonderfully and the smell that filled the house was heavenly! Now if I were to make it again… I think I would cut the ground green tea down to only 2 tablespoons, I have to admit there might have been just a bit too much. Please, if you have an advice for improving my recipe please, please reply! It is probably in dire need of improvement!

by alexis

British magazine, Waitrose Food Illustrated, took a close look at their nation’s beverage of choice, tea, by commissioning a survey that sought to discover what made the perfect cup. In order to gain true insight, the magazine questioned a 70-person panel, dubbed the Tea Council, which was made up of ”top chefs, food and drink writers, tea experts, etiquette gurus, builders, hoteliers, cabbies, vicars and teachers.” Each panel member was asked the seemingly simple (but obviously complicated) question, “how do you make the perfect cup of tea?”

The British Panel specifically described their perfect cup as:

• English Breakfast loose leaf tea
• In a mug
• Steeped for 3 1/2 minutes exactly
• Made in a China pot, which must be pre-warmed
• Tea In First
• Splash of milk
• No sugar

I was most shocked to read that a mug was preferred by 56% of the panel, as opposed to a cup (only 31% preferred a cup and 13% were undecided). As a teacup collector I am quite biased, although, there is something so very elegant and special about sipping tea from a delicate cup as opposed to a hearty mug.

My perfect cup changes on a daily basis, so I am sure I would prove to be a poor panel member. Cool mornings call for a warm cup of Masala Chai with milk, and humid afternoons are soothed with an iced white peony, etc, etc.

Do you have a perfect cup?

By Elizabeth Urbach, San Jose Tea Examiner

Did you know that June is known as Iced Tea Month among tea-lovers? With the beginning of summer comes the perfect weather for a refreshing glass of iced tea. Although there is no reason to become bored with good old iced tea – because of the wide range of flavored teas commercially available – tea can be used to make many other cold beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Alcohol-free beverages include punches, virgin cocktails or “mocktails”, spritzers, and of course, the ever-popular Arnold Palmer. Named for one of the most famous California golfers, an Arnold Palmer is nothing more than iced tea and lemonade mixed together in equal parts. It is one of my favorite ways to drink iced tea in the summer! You can also add things like rose water, orange flower water, and simple syrups flavored with mint, orange peel or other fruits to your iced tea for more variation.

Here are two of my favorite non-alcoholic tea recipes. They are simple, tasty and refreshing! They’re also perfect beverages to serve at summer barbecues, because they’re safe and healthy for everyone, and tasty enough to delight adults. 

Green Tea Soda:
ice
1 1/2 oz. green tea syrup (3 tablespoons)
1 liter club soda.

To make syrup: steep 2 bags of green tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes. Discard bags & add 1 cup granulated sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let cool & refrigerate for up to 1 week.
To make soda: mix syrup and ice with club soda in a glass.
- from Sauce Box, Portland Oregon, The Oregonian

Pomegranite Tea Punch:
2 parts peach-flavored tea with rose petals*, brewed and chilled
2 parts lemon-flavored, sweetened club soda or lemon soft drink, chilled
1 part pomegranite juice, chilled

Mix the iced tea and juice thoroughly and chill. Just before serving, pour into a punch bowl and add the lemon soda, also chilled. Add ice and garnish with nasturtiums or other edible flowers, and lemon slices.  *The recommended tea for this recipe is the Bloomsbury Afternoon blend from The Ladies’ Tea Guild but any peach-flavored black tea, combined with a few teaspoons of rose water or fresh organic rose petals, can be substituted.

– from Elizabeth Urbach, Director of The South Bay Ladies’ Tea Guild. 

Chadzilla

There was a technique for infusing butter with tea on the website portion of Fabian’s book.  Realizing all of the potential uses of such a base element led me to try it.

The onions were poached in garlic oil and aromatics at 65º for 4 hours.  They mellowed nicely while still retaining a pleasant ‘crunch.’

fried softshell blue, tea butter scampi, pearl onion confit, carrot noodle, dried persimmon

Becks & Posh: Recipe

Sweet, Buttery, Nibbly and Crispy, with Floral Perfume

By Sam

A couple of weeks ago, before I darted out of a genteel cocktail soiree, the hostess handed me a small cookie to try. It was simple and plain, but delightful all the same. “It’s an Earl Grey tea cookie”, she told me, “it’s the easiest recipe in the world to make”. She told me she had found it online ‘somewhere’.

I was in a cookie-making mood this morning so I went to hunt for the tea cookie recipe on the interwebs. I think I found it here. I am not quite sure why I didn’t have any Earl Grey in the house, it’s my favourite of all teas, so I scrambled to search for a substitute. My feeling was that these little biscuits are better suited to a tea with a strong, heady perfume. Luckily, in the back of my pantry I found a little sample tin of Jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea. The floral wafts that escaped as I poked my nose inside the caddy confirmed that the jasmine would likely make a great alternative to Earl Grey in this recipe. And it did.

Jasmine Tea Cookies

Makes 72 small cookies, 1 WW point per cookie

2 Tablespoons Jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea
2 Cups All purpose flour (I used ’00′ Superfine)
1 Cup Bakers (caster) Sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup Chilled Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Iced Water

1) In a processor or grinder, pulse the tea until powder-like. Use a pestle and mortar to break down any resistant buds remaining.

2) In a stand-mixer stir together the flour, sugar, salt and the tea.

3) Dice the cold butter into tiny cubes. Add this to the mixer along with the vanilla extract and water.

4) Using the paddle attachment, gently stir the ingredients together on your machine’s slowest setting until a loose dough is formed.

5) Divide dough into two equal pieces. Without over-handling, press each to form a dense ball and then roll each into a 12″-long log.

6) Wrap each log in plastic wrap and then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

7) Preheat oven to 375F with a shelf located in the centre.

One log at a time – remove from the fridge, slice 1/3″ rounds, place on a baking tray and bake on the middle shelf for 16 minutes until the edges of the cookies just start to colour brown.

9) Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

10) Enjoy.

Millions of Americans and people around the world are trying to find good healthy diet plans and programs for a healthy weight loss, especially after the New Year as part of their new years resolutions. A new book called The Ultimate Tea Diet is a presentable and fresh approach to dieting and weigh loss.

The Ultimate Tea Diet Book Description

Tea has been widely recognized for its amazing health benefits. It can help:

• Boost the immune system
• Lower blood sugar and cholesterol
• Prevent cavities and tooth decay
• Slow the aging process
• Decrease high blood pressure
• Prevent arthritis
• Sharpen mental focus and concentration
• Reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, cancer, and more…

Now, it’s time for tea to be recognized, not only for all of these wonderful health benefits, but also for its ability to help tea drinkers lose weight as part of diet.

The Ultimate Tea Diet harnesses tea’s incredible weight-loss potential in a straightforward plan for losing weight in a safe and healthy way. Simply find a tea you love, drink it all day, follow an easy food plan, and see the pounds fall off.

Tea’s ability to encourage weight loss comes from the synergy of its three main ingredients: caffeine to stimulate, L-theanine to neutralize the harmful side effects of caffeine and act as an appetite suppressant, and EGCG, which causes you to burn fat faster and more efficiently. In other words, tea reduces your appetite and stimulates your metabolism.

Don’t worry–you won’t go hungry on the Ultimate Tea Diet. The food plan includes tasty tea-based meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as tempting choices for midday snacks and sweet treats. All are made deliciously with tea so not only is your food incredibly flavorful, but you’re also getting the health and weight-loss benefits in every single bite you enjoy.

Drinking tea–and maintaining a conscientious focus on good health–can easily become a way of life. Slim down to a leaner, more energetic, and healthier you with the Ultimate Tea Diet.

Featured Recipe from The Ultimate Tea Diet

Rosemary Orange Tea Chicken

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 oranges
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried, plus fresh sprigs for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground green tea
• 1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Mix together the olive oil, juice of 1-1/2 oranges (set aside the other half0, pepper, salt, chopped rosemary, and dry tea. Pour this marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a grill pan or barbecue until hot. Remove chicken from the bag, discarding the remaining marinade, and grill until browned on both sides. Thinly slice the remaining orange half and serve with the chicken. Decorate with a sprig of rosemary.

Serves 4.

Nutrition Per Serving: calories 170, fat 2.5g, protein 28g, carb 8g

About the Author of The Ultimate Tea Diet

Mark “Dr. Tea” Ukra is prominently featured as a tea expert, historian, and representative of the contemporary movement of tea. Dr. Tea and his wife, Julie, and daughter, Lucky, live in Los Angeles, where they own dr. tea’s and are constantly spreading the good word about tea.

This recipe for blackberry iced tea uses a pinch of baking soda to preserve the vibrant colors of the berries in the tea.

BLACKBERRY ICED TEA

Makes: About 7 1/2 cups

• 3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (if frozen, thaw before using), plus additional fresh as garnish
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, plus additional sprigs as garnish
• Pinch of baking soda
• 6 bags black tea
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups cold water
• Ice

In a large pitcher, combine the blackberries and sugar. Use a wooden spoon to crush the berries and mix them with the sugar. Add the chopped mint and baking soda. Set aside.

Place the tea in a large heat-proof measuring cup. Add the boiling water and steep for 3 minutes. Spoon out the tea bags and squeeze them into the tea, then discard the tea bags.

Pour the tea into the blackberry mixture. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Pour the tea through a mesh strainer and discard solids. Return the tea to the pitcher.

Add cold water and stir well to dissolve sugar. Cover and chill.

To serve, pour into glasses filled with ice. Garnish with fresh mint and fresh blackberries on short wooden skewers.

(Recipe adapted from Southern Living magazine)

While many iced teas are made by steeping tea leaves in cool or sun-warmed water, the authentic sweet teas of the South are made by brewing black tea in boiling water.

SOUTHERN SWEET TEA

Makes: 1 gallon

• 12 bags black tea
• 6 cups boiling water, plus additional cold water
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Ice
• Lemon wedges or fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Place the tea bags in a large heat-proof 1-gallon pitcher. Add the boiling water and steep for 5 minutes. Spoon out the tea bags and squeeze them into the tea, then discard the tea bags. Stir in 1 cup sugar. Add enough cold water to fill the pitcher. Taste and adjust with remaining sugar as desired.

To serve, pour into ice-filled glasses, then garnish with lemon wedges or fresh mint.

(Recipe adapted from Southern Living magazine)