Tea (28 page)

Chicory.
The roasted root makes a very bitter, dark brew, more like coffee than tea. Boil one tablespoon of the root with one cup of water for three to four minutes, and strain into a cup. This tisane has been used medicinally in Europe since the first century CE. It has been grown in the United States since Thomas Jefferson planted it at Monticello. It has now escaped from cultivation and grows wild throughout many parts of the country. The ancient Greeks used it as a mild tonic and laxative.

Elderberry.
Place one tablespoon of dried elderberry flowers in a ceramic teapot and add one cup of boiling water. Steep for three to five minutes, then strain. Take care when ingesting elderberry, as the roots, stems, and leaves are slightly toxic. The ripe berries and flowers, however, are not only nontoxic, they are delicious in things such as tisanes, jelly, and pie. A tisane made from the flowers has traditionally been used as a stimulant and as a diaphoretic to induce sweating. The Shakers used the elderberry to treat migraine headaches.

Ginger.
To make a ginger tisane, pour two cups of boiling water over about one ounce of chopped ginger root, and allow to steep for fifteen to twenty minutes. The tisane is used to treat indigestion, flatulence, and motion sickness. It was exported from its native Asia to Greece as early as
2000 BCE
.

Ginseng.
To make a tisane, take five to eight small slices from the ginseng root or one teaspoon of the dried, ground root, and add one cup of boiling water. Steep for five to six minutes, strain, and sweeten to taste. Ginseng has been revered as a powerful healing herb for over two thousand years, particularly in China. It was thought not only to prolong life but also to cure an enormous number of ailments—and to be effective as an aphrodisiac. It is one of the most used and most touted of all folk medicines.

Hibiscus.
Place one tablespoon of dried hibiscus flowers in a teapot and add one cup of boiling water. Allow to steep for three to five minutes, then strain into a cup to make a sweet, fruity beverage. The flowers are slightly astringent, while the roots are mucilaginous. Hibiscus flowers are often added to other herbal teas and to flavored black tea and rooibos tisane.

Lemon balm
(also known as Melissa, from
Melissa officinalis
). Use one handful of fresh green leaves, add two cups of boiling water, and steep for seven to nine minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. Tisane made from lemon balm is very soothing. It has also been used against bacteria and viruses. The fresh leaves, rubbed on the skin, can bring instant relief to irritation from insect bites.

Licorice.
The tisane cannot be made from fresh roots. The roots need to be shade-dried for about six months, then ground into a powder for using. Pour boiling water over powder, and stir to dissolve. Licorice tisane has a long and rich history. It was used in Europe to treat infections, canker sores, colic, hepatitis, and epilepsy. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a demulcent to treat digestive and urinary disorders, as well as coughs and sore throats. It is an anti-inflammatory, and the tisane is often taken to relieve pain from arthritis.

Linden.
The tisane is made from the pale yellow flowers that occur in summer. Use one tablespoon of flowers per cup of boiling water. Allow it to steep for three to five minutes, then strain. Linden tisane was known in ancient Europe as the “royal nectar” because it was used for so many things, including improving circulation, relieving tension, and aiding digestion.

Mint.
Pick a handful of green leaves. Pour one cup of boiling water over the leaves and steep for six to eight minutes, then strain. Mint is probably the best-known and most widely used herb for making tisanes. Its refreshing, sweet flavor has made it a favorite for hundreds of years. There are numerous kinds of mint, including peppermint and spearmint. Mint tea, almost all experts agree, helps in treating indigestion,flatulence, and colic. It's also used effectively to treat muscle spasms and menstrual cramps, and is used externally on insect bites and chapped skin. Mint tea can be made by pouring boiling water over either fresh or dried leaves.

Passion flower.
To make a tisane, add one-half to one teaspoon of the dried flowers to a cup of boiling water, steep for three to five minutes, and strain. A tisane made from the beautiful, exotic-looking flowers has a slightly narcotic effect, and has been used to treat insomnia, muscle spasms, and tension. Native American healers rubbed the crushed leaves on the skin to treat bruises.

Raspberry.
Place one handful of the green leaves in a saucepan. Add two cups of water and simmer for ten minutes, strain, and sweeten with honey. In Colonial America, raspberry tisane was used to treat diarrhea in children, and as a gargle and mouthwash to fight against infection and disease. Raspberry-leaf tea was given to expectant mothers to tone the uterine and pelvic muscles. In Chinese medicine, raspberries and raspberry-leaf tisane are used to strengthen the kidneys.

Rose.
Place four to six dried rose hips in a nonaluminum saucepan. Add two cups of cool water. Simmer for about twenty to thirty minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. Rose hip tea has been used to cure a wide variety of ailments, including toothaches and earaches; diseases of the stomach, lungs, and intestines; overindulgence in wine; headaches; hemorrhages; sleeplessness; excessive perspiration; and hydrophobia. Rose hips are extremely high in vitamin C (more so than oranges), and in vitamins A, B, and E. Rose hip tea is slightly astringent.

Different teas taste best with different kinds of food. As with wine, much depends on personal taste, but these combinations are worth trying. As a general guideline, try pairing teas with foods from the same geographic region. For example, Japanese green teas taste wonderful with many of the foods indigenous to that country. Here are some other ideas:

Japanese green teas such as sencha, bancha, and genmaicha with seafood, fish, and rice, or to balance out foods high in sodium

Oolong tea with shellfish such as lobster and shrimp

Black teas or a smoky tea such as Lapsang souchong with meat dishes

Pu-erh with meats and poultry

China black teas such as Keemun or Yunnan, or Taiwan oolongs, or Lapsang souchong with hot, spicy foods

Jasmine tea with delicately flavored cooking

Breakfast.
Try any of the “breakfast” blends, including Irish breakfast and English breakfast, or black teas from Sri Lanka, India (especially from Assam or the second harvest of Darjeeling), or the Yunnan region of China. Prince of Wales and Earl Grey are also good for an early start.

Midmorning and lunch.
Green teas, particularly sencha or gunpowder, are appropriate. These are actually great to sip up until midafternoon. Green tea aids digestion and is beneficial when taken with food.

Afternoon.
For an afternoon tea, serve an early-harvest Darjeeling or a black tea from China, such as Keemun. For a special occasion, you might serve a special white tea such as Silver Needles or White Peony.

In the late afternoon, try an oolong from Taiwan such as tung ting jade or Iron Goddess of Mercy. Oolongs have less caffeine than black teas. Rooibos, actually a tisane rather than a true tea, makes a sweet addition to an afternoon tea. It is completely free of caffeine but does contain antioxidants, making it a great choice for any time of day and a good tisane to give to children.

Evening.
Because most teas contain caffeine, don't drink them late in the day or evening, if you are sensitive to the effects of caffeine.

There is not a single rule of brewing tea that applies to all teas, because each tea is unique and deserves individual treatment. There are as many different methods of preparing tea as there are teas. Brewing time varies according to tea type and also personal preference. Experiment and choose the method and the tea that suit you best. The following are suggestions for making the most of your tea:

TEA BAG OR LOOSE TEA
?

The first question is whether to use a tea bag or loose tea. In general—and of course there are exceptions—tea in bags is not of as good a quality as loose tea, although the tea industry is changing this rapidly. Many of the better tea companies are combining the quality of loose tea with the ease and convenience of a tea bag—with great success.

An article appearing in a September
2006
New York Times
reported that many of the largest tea companies, including Lipton, are selling long-leaf (high-quality) teas in bags. They're not using any old bags, however; they're putting this high-quality tea in nylon mesh bags shaped like small pyramids. Many of the smaller companies are following suit, realizing that tea sophistication is growing in the United States, and people are willing to pay for better-quality teas, but that Americans still want the ease and speed of a tea bag.

In the past, the size of the bag limited the size of the leaves that could be put in it. Often fannings, dust, and tea produced by the CTC method (see page
19
) are used for tea bags and instant powdered tea, and these are of inferior quality. That is not to say that there are no wonderful tea bags full of the highest-quality teas, but you'll have to look for them, and they will definitely be more expensive than regular tea bags.

WATER

Natural spring water is reputed to be the best for brewing tea, but filtered water does a fine job as well. If you have municipal tap water that tastes of chemicals, definitely filter it before you brew your tea.

Heat the water to boiling for all teas. Take note, though, that for some teas, you'll allow it to cool slightly before you brew it. Warm the teapot (or an individual cup) with a small amount of hot water. Toss out this warming water and then add the tea leaves to the warmed pot or cup. For most teas, use one teaspoon of leaf per cup (eight ounces) of water. After the water comes to a boil, pour it over the tea (with exceptions below).

STEEPING TIME

Use the information below as guidelines for steeping time, but remember that health experts say you need to allow green and black tea to brew at least three to five minutes to obtain the greatest number of antioxidants.

Green tea.
For the best taste, allow the boiling water to “rest” for one minute before using. Pour it over the tea and allow it to brew for only one minute. If you're more interested in the maximum health benefits than in the best taste possible, use boiling water and allow the tea to brew for three to five minutes.

White tea.
Add eight ounces of water that has been brought to a boil and allowed to cool for one minute. Brew for seven to ten minutes.

Black tea.
For whole-leaf tea, brew for five minutes; for broken-leaf, three minutes. For dust, fannings, or CTC (inexpensive tea bags), brew only one or two minutes—these tiny particles of tea brew really quickly. Flavored black teas take five minutes to brew.

Oolong.
Brew for five to seven minutes.

Rooibos.
Brew for five minutes.

You can also
eat
tea, using it in everything from stir-fry to muffins. This is really not such a far-out idea, since people were eating tea a couple of thousand years ago. It's relatively simple to substitute concentrated tea for liquids in many baking recipes. Sweet breads and muffins seem particularly suited to this substitution.

Diana Rosen, coauthor of
Cooking with Tea
, suggests that if you slowly brew tea at room temperature for about twenty to thirty minutes, the resulting infusion will be free of bitterness and astringency and will be even better than quickly brewed tea in various recipes. Of course, you wouldn't want to drink tea brewed like this, as it would be much too strong. She also suggests using spring water instead of distilled water for a superior product.