It was during the Song dynasty that a Record of Tea was written by Cai Xiang (1012- 1067) and new methods developed for processing and drinking tea. Tea was powdered and whipped in hot water with a bamboo whisk and the powdered tea completely consumed.
SAKCHARON
Word for sugarcane from Dioscorides book of ancient medicine 325 BC
1 cup water
1 tsp Green tea
1 small piece jaggery 1 tsp puffed rice
Bring water to a boil. Pour over tea leaves.
Steep for 3 minutes. Strain into a cup. Add jaggery. Stir and serve warm. Garnish with puffed rice.
Tea Master’s tip: An inexpensive green tea can be used - it’s lack of sweetness is compensated by the strong and robust jaggery. Any tea which has been over steeped also turns palatable after adding jaggery.
Jaggery is loaded with minerals, aids in digestion and clears the respiratory tract.
ETHEREAL JADE
1/3 cup water at room temperature
2/3 cup water at 900-950C
1 tsp Green tea
3 mint leaves (fresh) or a pinch of mint leaves (dried)
Place tea leaves in a glass pot. Pour 1/3 cup water over the tea leaves Heat the remaining 2/3 cup water to 900- 95 0C and pour into the pot
Steep for 3 minutes. Strain into a cup. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: A mildly sweet green tea-the unheated water and a short brewing time prevent bitterness from steeping in. Green tea does not require long steeping or water too hot, as it turns bitter. Mint adds a fresh green note.
BUTTER TEA
1 cup water
1 tsp green tea
1 tsp white butter (fresh and salt free)
Heat water to 900-950C. Pour over the tea leaves.
Steep for 3 minutes. Strain and pour into a cup.
Add a dollop of white butter. It floats, melts and homogenises with the tea.
Tea Master’s tip: The butter lubricates the lips, throat and gullet as
it glides down with the tea. A piece of heaven on earth! Interestingly, a devoted ragi (singer) of Golden Temple, Amritsar has this tea to ensure that his voice box is moist and affirms that it is the best lubricator.
SAGE SALVIA
1 cup water
1 tsp sage leaves
1⁄2 tsp green tea
1⁄2 tsp honey (optional) 3 green pepper corns
Heat water to 900C. Pour over the green tea and sage leaves.
Steep for 4 minutes. Strain. Add honey (optional). Garnish with green pepper corns.
Tea Master’s tip: Sage is a sore throat healer and a stress buster and is a natural Antiseptic. This brew is an antidote to the common cold, with added benefits of pepper and honey.
CRIMSON BETA
Romans were the first to cultivate the plant for its root and named it ‘Beta’
1 cup water
1⁄4 tsp leafy Green tea
1 slice beetroot (freshly grated)
4 lemongrass stalks
1⁄2 tsp lemon or orange peel (dried) 1 tsp crystal sugar
Place tea leaves, lemongrass and peels in a glass pot. Heat the water to boiling point and pour into the pot.
Steep for 5 minutes. Place the beetroot in a mesh over a glass cup.
Pour the citrus tea extract through the beetroot placed in the mesh into a cup. Serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: Beet is rich in minerals and vitamins, high in FIBRE and antioxidants. It lends an appealing crimson hue to the tea. The citrus extracts add a zing.
KONG KAHWA
Saffron is called kong in Kashmir
1 cup water
1⁄4 tsp Green tea
1⁄2 green cardamom (powdered) 2 cinnamon quills (1 cm)
6 saffron strands
4 almonds (coarsely powdered)
Place all ingredients except almonds in a pan. Switch on heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into a cup without straining and stir in the almonds. Serve warm.
ANISETTE
1 cup water
1⁄2 tsp Green tea
1 liquorice root shaving or 1⁄4 tsp liquorice powder
Heat water to 900C. Pour over the green tea leaves and liquorice. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain and serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: Liquorice is a home remedy for sore throat which provides relief by soothing inflammation and irritation. It is a thirst quencher and an expectorant which helps in bronchial troubles.
LIME TULSI TEA
1 cup water
1⁄2 tsp Green tea
1 tsp lime tulsi
1 slice of ginger (fresh)
Heat the water to 900C. Pour over the green tea leaves and lime tulsi Steep for 3 minutes. Strain. Garnish with a slice of ginger. Serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: Lime tulsi has bright green leaves and a distinct lemony aroma. Grown in Uttranchal, India, it originally sprouted from hybrid seeds given to farmers by NGO’s and has survived as a permanent species. Lime Tulsi aids in curing mental stress, cough and fever.
CRANBERRY GREEN TEA
1 cup water
1 tsp Green tea
1 heaped tblspn cranberries
Warm water to 800-900C. Pour over the Green tea leaves. Steep for 4 minutes. Strain into a cup with the cranberries in it.
Infuse for 2 minutes. Serve warm. Provide a small spoon for the cranberries.
YASMIN
1 cup water
4 Jasmine tea pearls
1 tsp rose hips
2 chrysanthemum flowers (dried)
Place jasmine pearls and rose hips in a glass pot. Heat water to 900-950C and pour into the pot.
Infuse for 5 minutes. Strain into a cup. Garnish with chrysanthemum flowers and serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: The slightly sour rose hips complement the jasmine aroma. Jasmine has aesthetic, spiritual and medicinal properties. It aids release of endorphins which calm the mind and alleviate pain. Jasmine is also anti inflammatory while rose hips are rich in Vitamin C.
JADE IRIS
Saffron is from the Iris (Iridaceae) family
1 cup water
3⁄4 tsp superfine Gunpowder Green tea 5 saffron strands
Heat 1/3 cup water to 900-950C. Pour it over the saffron strands.
Infuse for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2/3 cup water to 800C and pour over the Gunpowder Green tea.
Steep for 4 minutes. Strain into a cup and add the warm saffron infusion. Serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: This is a gentle extract of green tea with the flavour of zaffran. Saffron is a delicate and expensive herb, full of aromatic compounds. It aids digestion and is known to suppress tumours.
THYMOL
1 cup water
1⁄2 tsp Bishop’s weed
1⁄2 tsp Green tea
1 slice turmeric (fresh) or 2 strands turmeric (dried)
Steep Bishop’s weed in lukewarm water. Leave overnight.
Strain in the morning.
Heat this infused water to 900C and add tea fannings.
Steep for 3 minutes and strain. Garnish with turmeric slice. Serve warm.
Tea Master’s tip: Bishop’s weed relieves colic pains, flatulence and stomach disorders. When combined with warm green tea, the brew created is a potent digestive aid which can be made in larger volumes and sipped through the day.
PASTÈQUE
3⁄4 glass watermelon juice (fresh) 1 tsp Green tea leaves
3 mint leaves (fresh or dried)
1 basil sprig
Steam tea and mint leaves for 3 minutes.
Place the steamed leaves in a pot with watermelon juice.
Steep for 3 minutes. Strain into a tall glass. Top with ice cubes. Garnish with a basil sprig and serve chilled.
Tea Master’s tip: A no water and no heat method. The cold extraction of mint and tea brings an aromatic edge to fresh watermelon juice.
RUBY PLATINA
Platina’s‘ De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine Vulgare‘ of 1475, has a beetroot recipe for freshening breath. This beetroot tea is named after him.
3⁄4 glass water
1⁄4 tsp Leafy Green tea
1⁄2 tsp beetroot (fresh or dried)
2 orange slices (fresh or dried)
1⁄2 tsp rock sugar or honey (optional) 3 lemongrass stalks (tall and braided)
Place tea, beetroot, orange slices in a glass pot. Heat water to 900- 950C and pour into the pot.
Steep for 5 minutes. Strain into a glass. Add honey (optional) Serve chilled with the lemongrass braid standing tall in it.
Tea Master’s tip: Therapeutic properties of beet aid in kidney and gall bladder disorders. The high iron content remedies anaemia.
BRAINY BRAHMI
3⁄4 glass water
1 tsp Leafy Emerald Green tea
3 Brahmi leaves or 1 tsp Brahmi (powdered)
2 tblsp fruits
(strawberry, mango, papaya, pineapple, apricot, peach, grapes )
Heat water to boiling point. Pour over the tea leaves.
Steep for 3 minutes. Strain into a glass pot with the Brahmi leaves and assorted fruits placed in it.
Steep overnight in the refrigerator. Strain into a tall glass. Serve chilled.
Tea Master’s tip: Leafy Emerald Green is light and pleasant. Brahmi nourishes the brain’s retentive power while fruits bring in a natural sweetness. Good for relieving stress experienced by children during examinations. The tea steeped fruits can be served with whipped yoghurt as dessert.
MATCHA LATTE
1⁄2 glass water
1 tsp Matcha
1⁄2 glass almond milk
1⁄2 tea spoon honey (optional)
Filter the Matcha through a fine sieve into a cup.
Heat the water to 800- 900C. Pour the water over the Matcha.
Whisk gently for about 30 seconds to create froth. Add almond milk. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon honey (optional) Cool it in the refrigerator.
Whip and serve chilled.
Tea Master’s tip: A brew with all the goodness of Matcha and almond milk - a visually appealing brew for the young!
YU - TSIEN
Before the rains
1 glass water
1 tsp Gunpowder Green tea 3 vetiver strands
1⁄4 tsp lavender flowers
Heat water to 900C. Place the tea leaves, vetiver strands and lavender flowers in a glass pot.
Pour the warm water into the pot. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain and cool Serve chilled.
Tea Master’s tip: The first tea plucked each spring is called Yu-tsien - “before it rains” in China. Vetiver and lavender evoke rain memories with their earthy and floral notes. It can also be had pleasantly warm.
DIGESTIF
1 cup water
1⁄2 tsp Bishop’s weed
1⁄4 tsp Green tea fannings
Warm the water to 900C. Add tea and Bishop’s weed. Steep overnight. Strain and chill the brew. Serve chilled.
Tea Master’s tip: Bishop’s weed relieve colic pains and flatulence. Can be bottled and sipped all day to aid digestion. It can also be had warm after steeping for 5 minutes.
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