Category Archives: Cooking with Tea

Cooking with loose tea provides many ways to incorporate the taste and aroma of tea and tisanes into your cooking. From seasoning to ice cream and cocktails.

Earl Grey Tea Infused Vodka Cocktails

Adding tea to your cocktails is really easy to do and makes for a unique beverage to serve at your next get together. It seems counter intuitive to blend together tea, a beverage associated with health and mental clarity, with alcohol, which is associated with the exact opposite characteristics. However,opposites can and do blend well together. Keep in mind, the British have been putting tea in their alcoholic punches dating back to the 1700’s.

Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea Infused Vodka

Earl Grey Tea Infused Vodka

History of Tea and Alcohol

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a little bit of the history around tea and alcohol. In China, the two rarely mixed. While the Chinese have been making alcohol, starting with beer from millet for over 9,000 years, it was consumed differently than tea. Beer was produced because straight water could not be trusted for consumption. Tea was consumed as part of a religious and health ritual, it was not really seen as a replacement for water. That may be because it came on the scene much later than beer.

Interestingly tea came onto the wider cultural scene just as alcohol consumption in China was thought to be at its highest. The consumption of tea was thought to be the highest level of sophistication. In order to gain the favor of the emperor, much of the upper class abandoned alcohol for tea. The Tang dynasty (790-835 CE) saw the rise of the tea culture in upper society, replacing the beers,wines and grain alcohols that had been consumed previously. Alcohol became so frowned upon that wine making disappeared from the upper parts of Chinese society until it was reintroduced by the Portuguese and British in the early 1800’s. Tea quickly got added to alcohol by sailors on the trading vessels. Beer would go bad during the trip, and once it did, it was turned into punch with other spices and tea added to hide the off flavor of the beer. As an American, who takes my clean water for granted, it is hard to imagine that beer was the primary drink for sailors, but without clean water, beer was the safest beverage to consume.

Earl Grey Tea Cocktail Recipes

Flavor infused vodkas have become popular over the past couple of years and it is super easy to infuse your favorite vodka with tea. The first rule to remember, if you won’t drink the tea don’t put it in the vodka.

Earl Grey Vodka

1 tablespoon loose leaf Earl Grey tea

8oz vodka

Combine both ingredients together in a container and allow to sit for 8 hours before tasting to ensure you have the flavor you want. If you chose to use a tea bag instead, cut down the time to 2-3 hours,otherwise you end up with bitter vodka. Feel free to substitute other black teas for the Earl Grey. If they are flavored or blended with other spices, you may want to check at the 4-6 hour mark to see if you have the flavor you desire.

So now that we have a nice base for the cocktails, it is time for a few drink recipes.

Earl Grey Vodka Martinis: A delicious experiment.

Finished Earl Grey Vodka Martinis

Earl Grey Martini (Serves 2)

4 oz of Earl Grey Iced Tea

2 oz of Earl Grey tea infused vodka

1 tsp of Agave Nectar (this can be substituted for 1 tsp of Simple Syrup)

Mix the three ingredients together and then serve in a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange or orange peel, if you wish.

 

Earl Grey Tonic (Serves 2)

4 oz of Earl Grey Iced Tea

4 oz of Earl Grey tea infused vodka

3 oz Tonic Water

Pour the vodka into a highball glass over ice cubes. Then pour in the iced tea,followed by the tonic water. Stir and serve. If you want something extra special, make ice cubes using earl grey ice tea.

Note:  If you are fine with a little less Earl Grey flavor, you can replace the iced tea with the tonic water.

 

There are many more recipes you could make with your Earl Grey tea infused vodka. So feel free to play and share your favorite recipes with us.

Tea Eggs and the Chinese Spring Festival

The lunar new year is fast approaching and with it a chance to look into the Chinese culture and find new ways to use tea. The Spring Festival, which used to be the Chinese New Year, was renamed in 1913 when the Communist Party took over China and put the country on the Gregorian calendar (this is our modern calendar which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII). The Spring Festival corresponds with the lunar new year, which starts this year on February 19th. In Chinese culture, It is considered a time for cleaning, gathering of families and celebrating a fresh start.

Like every family gathering, no matter which country you live in, there is plenty of food. A typical dish, which uses tea in a unique way, are Chinese tea eggs. These are basically spiced hard boiled eggs. The combination and concentration of spices are unique to every family. So while I use one combination below, feel free to modify for your taste.

Chinese Tea Eggs Spicing

Spicing for Chinese Tea Eggs

Chinese Tea Eggs

  • 6 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of Black or Puerh Tea (traditionally this is made with Puerh)
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • ½ tablespoon anise seeds (3 to 4 Star Anise if you happen to have a good spice shop nearby)
  • 1 tablespoon dried orange peel
  • ½ tablespoon peppercorns

You will need tongs, a bowl with ice and water to cool the eggs and a spoon to crack their shells.

Place the eggs in sauce pan or large pot. You will want the pot big enough to hold the eggs in a single layer and allow you to pour in enough water to cover the eggs entirely. Place the eggs in the pot and fill it with water. Bring the water to a boil and then lower to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and put into the bowl with ice water. This will cool the eggs enough for you to handle them without burning yourself.

Chinese Tea Eggs

Completed Tea Eggs

Assuming none of the eggs broke during the initial cooking, just leave the water in the pot as you will be putting the eggs back in it. If one did, drain out the water, it will be foamy, wipe out the pot and fill with fresh water. Pull an egg out of the ice water and use a spoon to crack the egg shell. You are trying to make a lot of small cracks without removing the shell. Don’t worry if you lose part of the shell, just crack the entire shell then place the egg back in the pot. Do this to the remaining eggs.

Once all the eggs are back in the pot, add in the soy sauce, tea and spices. Add more water if necessary to get the liquids above the eggs. Turn the heat back on and bring the water up to a small simmer and allow to cook for at least 2 hours, if you want a darker web on your eggs you can simmer up to 3 hours.

This makes a salted and slightly spicy hard-boiled egg that is also colored by the tea and soy sauce.

Enjoy the lunar new year with a new way to use tea.

Black Tea Risotto

As winter seems to keep coming earlier than I want, I went into the kitchen looking for something warm, soothing, and filling. Nothing fits that bill like risotto. Now, I will admit I am usually looking for ways to make the everyday recipes my own and that is why I thought to replace the traditional stock in this dish with tea.

In figuring out which tea to use, it is helpful to remember that risotto gets its creaminess from both the butter added at the end of cooking and the starch released from the rice during cooking. So whatever tea is chosen needs to hold up against dairy and nothing does that better than a good strong black tea. I am sure an Assam black tea or Yunnan would have done fine, but I opted for one of our favorites, Kosabei TGFOP, a black tea from Kenya with both a malty flavor and slightly floral notes.

Experiments with Risotto using Black Tea

Black Tea as Stock for Risotto

Black Tea Risotto

  • 4-6 tablespoons room temperature butter*
  • 6½ cups water
  • 1½ tsps of Kosabei TGFOP (Yunnan Sunrise, Classic Assam, or other bold black tea would work too)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1½ cups Arborio rice or another short grained rice
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

*You can use oil, just use a lighter oil like corn or safflower, olive oil will overpower the tea flavor

First you will need to brew up your tea. Using a small stock pot or sauce pan, bring 6 ½ cups of water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil take the pot off the burner and then drop in all the tea. Allow the leaves to steep for 5 minutes and then pour everything through a strainer into a pitcher. Wipe any residual leaves out of the pot and then return the liquid to the pot. Put it over low heat so it stays warm while you are cooking the risotto. The best way to guarantee success with risotto is having warm liquid to pour over the rice.

Dice the onion into small pieces. Put a medium to large sauce pan (2 quarter sauce pan will give you more room to stir) on the stove at high heat. Put in 2 tablespoons of the butter and allow to melt. Add the onion to the butter and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes (the onions should look translucent). Stir periodically so your onions don’t brown. Then add the rice to the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally to get the butter over all the rice and to evenly incorporate the onion. If using Arborio rice, when the kernels become clear around the edges it is the signal to start adding the tea.

Using a ladle, scope in one ladle of the tea and then stir until the liquid disappears. Then add the next ladle and repeat. Keeping going until you have roughly ½ cup left of the tea. Your rice should look plump and by in a slightly creamy sauce (it should not look soupy and the rice kernels should be apparent). Now add in the remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time. If you cut the tablespoon into quarters it will melt faster. Also, this is where it is time to take a small taste of the risotto and see if you like the creaminess. It is not necessary to add all four tablespoons, it is more of a personal preference. Next, stir in the cup of cheese until it is fully incorporated.

Black tea risotto with some peas and garnish.

The Finished Black Tea Risotto Dish

Now is the time to judge if the remaining ½ cup of tea is necessary. If the risotto is looking dry, try adding a little at a time until it looks shiny. You can also skip the last half cup and save it for the morning if you like the taste of the risotto and how it looks. Salt and pepper to taste and if you want you can stir in ½ to ¾ cup of your favorite vegetable and a couple teaspoons of herbs (rosemary and green peas is one of my favorite combinations in this dish).

I was surprised at how the warm malty flavor of a good black tea adds unique note to this creamy dish. Not to mention, it turns it a warm wheat brown color almost like a loaf of bread. I hope this inspires you to try using tea in one of your favorite recipes.

Masala Chai: Delicious Tea and Steeped in History

Masala Chai
Traditional Indian Spiced Tea (1 serving)


  • 3 tsp Masala Chai Blend (or make your own*)
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Milk (whole)
  • Optional: 1 tsp Fresh Ginger
  • 1 or 2 Tblsp Agave Nectar or your sweetener of choice

Bring all ingredients except sweetener to a boil in a small saucepan then quickly reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. The longer you simmer the greater the intensity. Add sweetener, stir, and strain into your mug of choice. (Enjoy).

* Making your own Masala Chai blend is easy if you prefer to experiment more. Start with 2 tsp of a solid Assam black tea base and add  3 green cardamom pods, 1 whole clove, 1/8 tsp nutmeg seed, and a small bit of freshly grated ginger. Then experiment with adding pepper, star anise, cinnamon or other spices to taste.

Over the past several weeks we have been participating in shows at Wintergreen Resort, south of Charlottesville, VA as well as the Purcellville Community Market in Purcellville, VA and without fail the Masala Chai has been one of the most consistent sellers even when we haven’t had samples for tasting. Yet so many buyers don’t really know much about the drink they love. So it was really just a matter of time before we blogged about Masala Chai specifically and chai generally.

Masala Chai Spices

Indian Spices (Masala), By Holger Casselmann, CC-BY-SA-3.0

The word chai itself is but one of many variations on the the word tea which includes , chá, and chai depending on culture and history. Masala, on the other hand, is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a varying blend of spices used in Indian cooking” (Merriam-Webster). Thus Masala Chai is nothing more than spiced tea. Of course, for those who have experienced Masala Chai know that there are a myriad different flavors. While it commonly includes ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon, there are many variations from there which can include star anise, fennel seeds, nutmeg, cloves, and more. For many, true Masala Chai also includes milk and a sweetner.

History of Masala Chai

As most are aware, Masala Chai has its roots in Indian Culture, though exactly when seems a bit of a mystery. One account has it attributed to an Indian king some 5,000 years ago (Kasam, 2004), while the commonly accepted source is the Hindu Aurveda tradition. Regardless, spiced tea was consumed in India long before the arrival of the British and well before it was brought to the United States and commercialized.

Masala Chai in India: Chai Wallah’s

Spiced tea is served throughout most of India. Tea sellers, or chai walla’s are found all over India and keep their chai simmering throughout the day. In fact, the chai wallahs’s serve as local gathering spots, akin to our water coolers, where people come together to meet, discuss, and debate a wide range of topics. Traditionally, the tea itself is served in clay cups. These cups are typically produced locally, unglazed, used only once, and smashed by the customer after use to degrade back into the dirt and mud from which they were made. Across India the clay pots come in a variety of shapes and sizes and even names. They are called bhaar in the West Bengal region, puruas in Banaras, and kullarhs in much of the rest of the country. Enjoyment of masala chai from these roadside vendors is typical and a much written about experience by many travelers to India.

Kashmiri Chai
Traditional Pakistani Tea of the Kashmir Region (2 servings)


  • 2 tsp Gunpowder Green Tea
  • 4-6 Green Cardamom Seeds
  • 1/3 tsp Ground Cardamom
  • 1/3 tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 cups Milk (whole)
  • 2 tsp Combination Ground Pistacio’s and/or Almonds
  • 2 cups Water
  • Salt to Taste

Add water, tea, green cardamom, and baking soda to a saucepan, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Separately, boil the milk and ground cardamom and reduce to low heat before adding the previously prepared tea. Return to a boil, add salt and simmer another 3-5 minutes. Strain and garnish with ground pistachio’s and/or almonds.

Spiced Tea Variations

While Masala Chai is the best known spiced tea in the west it is hardly the only one. Kashmiri Chai, also known as Pink Tea, Salt Tea, Noon (meaning salt) Tea, and many other names, comes from the Kashmir region in northern Pakistan between India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China. Traditionally made with salt, though sugar can be substituted, this tea takes on a pink hue due to the addition of baking soda.

There are many different way one can make spiced tea. Starting with a basic Masala Chai or Kashmiri Tea you can experiment to find a taste profile that works for you. There are also a wide range of loose lease options available including things like our Pumpkin Spice Chai and even caffeine free options like our South African Chai so there is a spiced chai for many occasions.

Sources

High Chai, Nirali looks at the steeping of tea in the South Asian tradition, by, Roxanna Kasam, Nirali Magazine, November 1, 2004, http://niralimagazine.com/2004/11/high-chai/

Masala Definition, Mirriam-Webster Dictionary On-Line, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masala

Matcha: Drink Your Tea and Eat it Too (Part II)

Photo of a single matcha green tea cookie.

Matcha Green Tea Cookie

I left off the last matcha blog with green tea ice cream.  However, there are many other ways to use matcha in cooking.

The first recipe is salad dressing.  Matcha adds a surprising kick to salad dressing, that even my five year old likes. Since you are making the salad dressing you can adjust the number of servings below to what suits your needs.  If you store this overnight in the fridge, it will separate, so store in a container where you can shake it back into its intended form before pouring over your next salad.

Matcha Salad Dressing

Serving Size 2

2 tsp. matcha

¼ cup olive or avocado oil (if you keep around other oils, walnut oil is surprising good as well)

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

½ tbsp. soy sauce

½ tbsp. lemon juice (lime juice also works here)

Start by whisking all the ingredients together except the matcha.  Then whisk in the matcha about a ½ tsp. at a time.  It may clump on you so whisk hard (or if you have one of those nifty salad dressing containers with a tight lid, shake hard).  Allow the dressing to sit for about 5-10 minutes before pouring, it allows the matcha to really incorporate its flavor.

This next recipe is for cookies.  This one took a while to get right.  I learned that matcha does not play well with most flours.  Its grassy flavor has a tendency to amplify the wheat like flavor of most pastry flours so you end up with very bland cookies that are also not that sweet.  So here I thought I would make a shortbread cookie and ended up with more of a snickerdoodle type cookie to get the tea flavor I wanted.  The recipe below includes an option for chocolate chips as my son, as one of taste testers, firmly believes it isn’t a real cookie without chocolate chips.

Matcha Cookies -With or Without Chocolate Chips

Photo of matcha green tea cookie dough in the blender.

Batter for Matcha Green Tea Cookies

2 tbsp. matcha

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

2 tsps. cream of tartar

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

2 ½ – 2 ¾ cup Brown Rice Flour

Turbinado sugar for topping (large granules, raw cane sugar)

Oven temperature:  375 degrees Fahrenheit

Bake time: 7-8 minutes per tray, makes around 3-4 dozen cookies

Photo of twelve freshly baked matcha green tea cookies.

Tray of Matcha Green Tea Cookies

Start by putting the matcha and sugar into your mixer or whisk together by hand.  This needs to be mixed until all the sugar is uniformly the same color green.  This will kick up a lot of dust, so put this on the lowest setting your mixer will go.  This step is critical to getting a uniform green cookie, otherwise you will end up cookies with green streaks in them, which is not very attractive. Next drop in the butter in half stick increments and beat until the butter is uniformly green.  You will need to stop mixing and scrap down the sides and the beater to make sure the sugar uniformly gets into all the butter.  Next put in the cream of tartar and the eggs.  Follow with the baking soda, baking powder, salt and then flour.  Incorporate the flour in ¼ – ½ cup increments.  Once you get to 2 cups in the mixer watch closely as you go to incorporate your last ½ – ¾ cup as you do not want the batter to get too dry.  The batter should remain shiny and sticky to both the beater and sides of the bowl.  Scrap down the sides one last time to ensure all flour is in and then pour out onto wax paper.  As this point, you can cover the mound of dough in wax paper and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to harden (less stickiness to work with).  If the sticky dough doesn’t bother you, pinch out about two tablespoons size amount and roll around in a ball and then lightly roll in a bowl with turbinado sugar.  Press the ball flat into about a ¼ – ½ inch thick cookie.  Leave a good inch to two inches in between cookies as these spread as they cook.  No more than 12 cookies per tray.  Place in the oven for about 7-8 minutes, you should see light brown around the bottom edges of most of the cookies on the tray.  When you pull the cookies out of the oven allow them to cool on the tray – about 10-15 minutes.  The dough stores well in the refrigerator or freezer, so you do not need to make all the cookies at once. Just keep wrapped in the wax paper and in a container so it doesn’t pick up odors from other items in the refrigerator.

Optional:  Chocolate chips – if you are going to put these in the full batter, use about ¾ to 1 cup of chips, and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract.  I split the batter and mix in the chips to half of the batter, so I use about ½ cup and ½ tsp. of vanilla extract.

I hope these recipes inspire you to also explore eating your tea too.