Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gif Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com en-us Copyright 2009 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Sweet Tea Time - Southern Retailer Struggles to Keep Tradition Alivehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/06/09/sweet-tea-time-southern-retailer-struggles-to-keep-tradition-a/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/06/09/sweet-tea-time-southern-retailer-struggles-to-keep-tradition-a/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/06/09/sweet-tea-time-southern-retailer-struggles-to-keep-tradition-a/#commentsFiled under:

While sweet tea has hardly vanished from the Southern diet, cut-glass pitchers of the homebrewed stuff have gradually disappeared from the region's refrigerators as more drinkers turn to powdered mixes and premade teas.

Now Hammacher Schlemmer, the New York-based retailer best known for offering airline travelers gadgets they never knew they needed, is trying to resuscitate sweet-tea traditions with its Authentic Southern Sweet Tea Brewer, a machine that reportedly makes brewing a fresh pot of sweet tea as easy as pulling through the drive-thru at McDonald's (which saw its monthly sales jump 6 percent after belatedly adding sweet tea to its menu in 2007).

Southerners have been drinking sweet tea for at least 150 years, when temperance advocates probably started leaving the booze out of popular tea punches. Sugary tea wasn't unknown outside the South, but folks sweltering below the Mason-Dixon line zealously embraced the cooling beverage.

Continue reading Sweet Tea Time - Southern Retailer Struggles to Keep Tradition Alive

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]]>hammacher schlemmerHammacherSchlemmersweet teaSweetTeateaHanna Raskin2009-06-09T17:00:00+00:00 Buying and Storing Tea - Tip of the Dayhttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/04/03/buying-and-storing-tea-tip-of-the-day/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/04/03/buying-and-storing-tea-tip-of-the-day/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/04/03/buying-and-storing-tea-tip-of-the-day/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Different teas last for varying amounts of time. Find out the best way to buy and store tea so that you can enjoy its unique taste longer.

Continue reading Buying and Storing Tea - Tip of the Day

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]]>how toHowTostore teasStoreTeasteateastip of the dayTipOfTheDayMax Shrem2009-04-03T09:00:00+00:00Sharks Now Taint the Waters of Tea Landhttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/05/sharks-now-taint-the-waters-of-tea-land/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/05/sharks-now-taint-the-waters-of-tea-land/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/05/sharks-now-taint-the-waters-of-tea-land/#commentsFiled under: ,

shark tea diffuser

I often see new designs and revel in their neatness, but don't think much of them for everyday use. Until, that is, I spied Pablo Matteoda's "Sharky" design for tea diffusers.

How brilliant is that? It's handy, it works, it looks cute, and best of all, it has a unique kitsch factor to it. Imagine how great that infuser would work with some all-natural berry tea, as the fin slices through the water, leaving a red trail of sinking, creepy color. Team that up with some ice cubes made from cake decorating body part molds, and imagine the fun!

[via BoingBoing]
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]]>Monika Bartyzel2009-02-05T10:00:00+00:00Gourmet Spotlights Pacific Northwest Teahouseshttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/03/gourmet-spotlights-pacific-northwest-teahouses/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/03/gourmet-spotlights-pacific-northwest-teahouses/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/03/gourmet-spotlights-pacific-northwest-teahouses/#commentsFiled under: ,

tao of tea interiorSometime during my college years, a teahouse called the Tao of Tea opened in Portland, OR. I often went there with friends during my holiday breaks and summer vacations. It was there that I was first introduced to the world of loose leaf tea (we were strictly a Lipton and Celestial Seasonings household during my childhood) and learned that there was more to tea than just black and herbal.

Recently, Matthew Amster-Burton rounded up eight of the best teahouses across the Pacific Northwest for Gourmet.com, and included my beloved Tao of Tea in his piece. He's put together a wonderful selection of spots between Portland, OR and Vancouver, B.C. If you're a tea lover who's planning a trip to that area of the country, this list is a must-read.
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]]>matthew amster-burtonMatthewAmster-burtonpacific northwestPacificNorthwesttao of teaTaoOfTeateahousesMarisa McClellan2009-02-03T09:00:00+00:00A Honey Lemon Ginger Infusionhttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/01/21/a-honey-lemon-ginger-infusion/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/01/21/a-honey-lemon-ginger-infusion/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/01/21/a-honey-lemon-ginger-infusion/#commentsFiled under: , ,

lemon in hand
It's been remarkably frigid out here on the east coast of late and the bone chilling weather seems to be bringing with it another round of sniffles and head colds. Doctors advise that there's not much to do for a cold other than drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest. We can't help you with the rest, but I've got a tasty suggestion for making those liquids go down easy.

Whip up a quick infusion of honey, lemon and ginger. Simply grate a half inch chunk of ginger into a large mug. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in on top (you can also add the zest if you're feeling daring) and add a heaping teaspoonful of honey (feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your personal taste). Fill the cup with boiling water and stir to combine. Drink while still warm and repeat as necessary.

It will soothe a sore throat, help with the cough (truly, honey has been found in scientific studies to calm a cough nearly as well as cough syrup) and taste good to boot!
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]]>cold and fluColdAndFlugingerhoneyinfusionlemonteaMarisa McClellan2009-01-21T09:00:00+00:00New Teasticks!http://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/14/new-teasticks/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/14/new-teasticks/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/14/new-teasticks/#commentsFiled under: , ,

blue and magenta teasticks that look a little like high heelsYou may remember the first Teastick we reviewed in 2005. You know, if you're that cool and read blogs back then. Well, three years is a long time in Teastick development. Have a look at what's new - at right, the Teastick Gems.

Do they remind anyone else of Barbie shoes? Seriously, that's all I can think of when I look at them. But they're not Barbie shoes, they're not; they make tea.

"Teastick Gems are now made with Eastman Tritan[TM], a revolutionary new material that is FDA-approved, taste-free and with absolutely no Bisphenol-A!"

I have no idea what Bisphenol-A is, but I feel sort of excited that these don't contain it. I looked up what else is made with Eastman Tritan[TM] but a Google image search brought me a lumber rack, a synthesizer, and an impressive deer. So, let's assume this is a very new type of plastic.

In any case, Teasticks can go in the dishwasher and are obviously a very handy tea-making shape. The Teastick Gems' semi-clear design allow you to watch your tea pearls unfold and make a perfect 10-14 oz. cup of tea. Perfect for a tea lover's holiday stocking!
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]]>brewinggamilagamila company tea stickGamilaCompanyTeaStickgiftgift guidegift ideasgiftsteatea sticktea sticksteastickteasticksAnnie Scott2008-11-14T17:02:00+00:00Tip of the Day - Powdered green teahttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/11/tip-of-the-day-powdered-green-tea/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/11/tip-of-the-day-powdered-green-tea/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/11/11/tip-of-the-day-powdered-green-tea/#commentsFiled under: ,

Want a cup of tea that brews in three seconds?

Continue reading Tip of the Day - Powdered green tea

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]]>green teapowdered green teaPowderedGreenTeateatiptip of the dayAnnie Scott2008-11-11T06:00:00+00:00A down-south summer favorite, spikedhttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/10/22/a-down-south-summer-favorite-spiked/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/10/22/a-down-south-summer-favorite-spiked/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/10/22/a-down-south-summer-favorite-spiked/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

bottle of firefly sweet tea flavored vodkaThree of my favorite things converged recently: David Byrne, sweet tea, and booze. Down south, the latter two are common enough on their own, but now Firefly Distillery has combined them with Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka.

I was beyond skeptical when my friend brought a bottle to an outdoor David Byrne show in Atlanta. I'd never even met a canned or bottled sweet tea, or for that matter a flavored vodka, worth spitting at (most necessitate spitting out). I expected something cloying and artificial-tasting.

To my surprise, Firefly exercised remarkable restraint in infusing--or should I say brewing--the vodka with (according to John T. Edge writing for the Gourmet blog) local tea and sweetened with regionally appropriate Louisiana cane sugar. Edge calls it hyper-sweet, but by sweet tea standards it really isn't. He also recommends mixing with lemonade, which my friend also suggested. But such doctoring isn't necessary. Water and ice do the trick.

The smooth dance moves and electrifying vocals of David Byrne aren't necessary, either. But in my opinion, if "the name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven," then it follows that "heaven is a place" where spiked tea and live Talking Heads hits meet.
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]]>fireflyinfused vodkasweet teavodkaAmy McDaniel2008-10-22T10:01:00+00:00Backyard mint tea from the biggest backyard yethttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/09/04/backyard-mint-tea-from-the-biggest-backyard-yet/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/09/04/backyard-mint-tea-from-the-biggest-backyard-yet/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/09/04/backyard-mint-tea-from-the-biggest-backyard-yet/#commentsFiled under: ,

The kids and I spent 3 days last week in the Southern Adirondacks. A family friend, who is quite an outdoorsman, and experienced birdwatcher, purchased about 40 acres a couple years ago near Hinckley Reservoir in upstate New York. He has been telling me that I need to come up for a visit, and we finally took him up on the offer. One thing that he mentioned in advance of the visit was that he wanted me to show him what was edible on his property. The next several posts will all be from that visit.

Continue reading Backyard mint tea from the biggest backyard yet

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]]>mintpeppermintteawild peppermintwild teaWildPeppermintWildTeaNeil Goldstein2008-09-04T15:02:00+00:00Tea Company Spotlight - Tea Froghttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/04/tea-company-spotlight-tea-frog/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/04/tea-company-spotlight-tea-frog/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/04/tea-company-spotlight-tea-frog/#commentsFiled under: , ,


This is the first interview in a series of interviews called Tea Company Spotlight that I'd like to do with tea owners from all the tea companies around the world.

My first interview is with Mike Morton, the owner and founder of TeaFrog, founded in 2006 and based online out of Oakville, Ontario with distributors throughout Canada. I've spoken with Mike through reviewing many of his teas for the STeaP podcast since late 2007, and he was all too happy to answer a few questions about his company.

BRANDICE: Tell us a bit about starting your company.

MIKE: I have been a tea drinker for all of my life, and until about 4 years ago, the only tea I knew was Orange Pekoe Tetley Teabags. :) My daughter visited Japan in 2004 and the family that she stayed with sent back a gift package of good green tea. At the time I had no idea how to brew it, taste it, etc, and we could not even read the packaging because it was all in Japanese! We figured out how to make it eventually, and were surprised at how amazing it was compared to the teabag store bought that we had been drinking. As I started to research and explore tea, I grew a passion for finding good tea, and sharing what I knew with friends and family. As I grew evermore - lets say, *obsessed* with it, I started to notice that tea was getting more popular, but the outlets for different varieties and flavors for experimenting with were limited. I just naturally took what I knew about business from previous experience, paired it with a passion, and lo and behold, TeaFrog was born! :)

Continue reading Tea Company Spotlight - Tea Frog

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]]>brandiceinterviewmike mortonMikeMortonteatea companytea company spotlighttea frogBrandice Schnabel2008-08-04T10:01:00+00:00Tavalon Tea - Tea Sodahttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/tavalon-tea-tea-soda/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/tavalon-tea-tea-soda/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/tavalon-tea-tea-soda/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Chris Cason is Tavalon's tea sommelier, and in this clip, he explains out to create simple syrup infused with tea, which can then be turned into a tea soda that sounds really quite tasty! I'm looking forward to trying this out on my own at some point. Have any of you created a unique beverage with tea?

[Source: Tavalon at Viddler]

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]]>brandiceChris CasonChrisCasonrecipesimple syrupSimpleSyruptavalonteatea sodavideoBrandice Schnabel2008-07-25T15:01:00+00:00Coffee to Tea Convert Contesthttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/coffee-to-tea-convert-contest/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/coffee-to-tea-convert-contest/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/25/coffee-to-tea-convert-contest/#commentsFiled under: , ,

FeliciteaAre you a writer who also enjoys tea? There's a contest going on over at Felicitea that offers an opportunity to showcase your writing talents for free tea and other prizes. There's only about a week left, so don't waste any time if you read about the contest and want to participate!

Here's the overview, straight from Felicitea's site:

Write: We're looking for poetry, prose, whatever you like. Feel free to haiku or make up a limerick, or write out a concise little paragraph. Just write about tea and it's relationship to you, your friend, or your last cup of coffee.

We want to connect new drinkers to tea, convert a coffee drinker (or other non-tea drinking people) or two over (at least get them to try good tea!) and reconnect tea lovers with what it is they love about tea.
  • Tea drinkers it is your responsibility to help the coffee drinkers of the world. You are charged with helping them understand the joy of tea. If you are a convert tell your story. If you love tea, but still enjoy an occasional cup of coffee it's okay, but what about the tea keeps you coming back to the pot all day? Share with the Internets why they should kick that coffee habit. If you have a friend you're nominating, be specific.

  • Coffee/Non-tea drinkers this is your chance to tell us why you drink coffee (or something else) instead of tea. This is your chance to tell all us tea drinkers what it is that makes you go for the espresso instead of the Earl Grey. Did you have a bad tea bag experience? Convinced all green tea is bitter? Are you willing to give it a shot but don't know where to start?
For the detailed rules and the prizes, click to read on!

Continue reading Coffee to Tea Convert Contest

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]]>brandicecoffeecoffee drinkerscontestfeliciteafreebiesgiveawayssamplesteatea drinkersTeaDrinkerswritewriterswritingBrandice Schnabel2008-07-25T11:01:00+00:00Slashfood Ate (8): Gourmet coffee at homehttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/slashfood-ate-8-gourmet-coffee-at-home/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/slashfood-ate-8-gourmet-coffee-at-home/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/slashfood-ate-8-gourmet-coffee-at-home/#commentsFiled under: , ,


This recent post about Starbucks - as with most posts about Starbucks - caused the typical coffee cacophony over price and quality. Although I happen to like Starbucks just fine, I certainly appreciate a good homemade cup. Unfortunately, quality espresso machines are pricey and people rarely use them enough to meet their ROI ('Fess up: How many of you have a schmancy DeLonghi at home, but still go to Starbucks every day?). As a veteran barista (of both indie and corporate coffeehouses), I've come up with a stock of supplies to help make gourmet coffee at home.

Espresso drinks:
  • Moka pot (like this one from Bialetti): Many Italians still brew their espresso the old-fashioned way -- on the stovetop. The pot steeps espresso grounds in boiling water until the bubbles force the creamy coffee into the top of the Moka. Pour it out, and there's your shot.
  • Milk Frother (like this one from Aerolatte): This bad boy has a high-speed whisker that whips any kind of milk into foamy shape. (For a cappuccino, use half steamed milk/half foam; for a latte, use mainly steamed milk, with a layer of foam on top).

Continue reading Slashfood Ate (8): Gourmet coffee at home

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]]>aerolattebialetti coffeemakerBialettiCoffeemakercoffeegourmet coffeeGourmetCoffeemochamoninstarbucksstarbucks coffeeStarbucksCoffeeteaKristyn Pomranz2008-07-24T18:00:00+00:00A sour cherry cocktailhttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/a-sour-cherry-cocktail/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/a-sour-cherry-cocktail/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/24/a-sour-cherry-cocktail/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,


Over the past few summers, cherry-based cocktails have become something of a signature for me, to the point whereupon being proposed to in mid-July a few years back, I immediately began pulping and freezing cherries for use in our wedding cocktails the following October. Fresh cherries have a cruelly short season, and I do my best to make the most of every phase from sour to Rainier to Bing. Each has a distinct level of sweetness and depth of flavor and is complemented by different suites of ingredients. Rich, dark Bings stand up to wood smoking and full-bodied lemon and limeades, but tender, young sour cherries seem a natural fit for a subtly refreshing sweet iced tea. Oh - and booze.

Recipe follows after the jump.

Continue reading A sour cherry cocktail

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]]>cherriescherrycocktailsdrinksmixologysour cherriesSourCherriesKat Kinsman2008-07-24T17:00:00+00:00Weekly Tea Bits: Rishi, memory, gimhae & gongfuhttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/21/rishi-memory-gimhae-gongfu/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/21/rishi-memory-gimhae-gongfu/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/21/rishi-memory-gimhae-gongfu/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Loose TeaRishi is putting Milwaukee on the world tea map
Rishi took home seven first place awards at the recent World Tea Expo. They are definitely doing something right, and I personally recommend their Jade Cloud tea.
Cup of tea may ease memory problems
It turns out that the flavinoids in tea may actually help ease symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, and there seems to the possibility that flavinoids in tea may help repair the damage, not just stop it.
A test in the art of gimhae style tea bowls
Teaware geeks will enjoy this write up by MattCha about Korean style gimhae tea bowls, complete with a brief history of this teaware style and several pictures of some very nice bowls.
32 Gongfu Tea Tables
This is a great article on gongfu tea tables, with in-depth comparisons that you really won't find anywhere else. It's very cool of the author to share all the info collected while on his own quest for hte perfect gongfu tea table. Bookmark this one if you ever want to get into gongfu tea preparation!
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]]>awardsbrandiceflavinoidsgongfulistmemorynewsrishiteatea bowlsTeaBowlsteawareworld tea expoWorldTeaExpoBrandice Schnabel2008-07-21T10:01:00+00:00Water for tea: Temperature mattershttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/16/water-for-tea-temperature-matters/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/16/water-for-tea-temperature-matters/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/16/water-for-tea-temperature-matters/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Green tea
When I first began to dabble in green tea, I absolutely hated it. It was bitter, drying to the mouth, wretched taste, and I was left for a long time feeling that green tea just wasn't for me. Many people I knew who drank black tea felt the same way, so I concluded that green tea was for the few who had the palette for it.

Of course, this was during a time when the only other tea drinkers I knew were buying Bigelow or Lipton bags and, like myself, just throwing them in some boiling hot water and coming back whenever we remembered to take the bag out, squeezing the bag thoroughly to get the last drops into the cup.

I shudder these days when I think about how badly I was scalding my first attempts at green tea, and I marvel that I enjoyed any tea at all, considering the way in which I was preparing it. This is a predicament many novice tea drinkers find themselves when it comes to anything other than black tea: you're scalding (and probably over-steeping it).

Continue reading Water for tea: Temperature matters

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]]>black teaBlackTeabrandicegreen teaGreenTeaherbal teaHerbalTeaoolong teaOolongTeapreparationpu erh teaPuErhTeasteepsteepingteatimetipstisanewhite teaWhiteTeaBrandice Schnabel2008-07-16T09:01:00+00:00Soul-saving sweet tea sherbethttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/15/soul-saving-sweet-tea-sherbet/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/15/soul-saving-sweet-tea-sherbet/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/15/soul-saving-sweet-tea-sherbet/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Kind little rituals seem to go a long way toward making marriage work, so almost every weekend, I make my husband some sweet tea. He's a Southern boy by birth (Brooklynian by marriage), and having a big ol' pitcher easily grabbable in the fridge seems to right any Mason Dixon imbalance he might be suffering at the time. I've got it down to a science, proportion-wise, but this past weekend, his itch for a sugar fix kicked in while I was at the grocery store. What he made tasted divine, but there was just too much for one pitcher, and not enough refrigerator room for a second.

If nothing else, the nuns at St. Scorpacciata instilled in me the mortal fear of wasting food, and seeing how I'd been at the store to buy milk (which neither of us usually drink) for a Bolognese, I decided sherbet would be what saved our souls from eternal damnation. I suppose we won't know for a while if that worked, but it did taste pretty damned delicious.


Continue reading Soul-saving sweet tea sherbet

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]]>dessertsfrozenfrozen treatsFrozenTreatsscorpacciatasherbetsouthern cookingSouthernCookingsweet teaSweetTeateaKat Kinsman2008-07-15T17:00:00+00:00That costs what?http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/11/that-costs-what/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/11/that-costs-what/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/11/that-costs-what/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

In some sectors, it's practically de rigueur (and awfully hilarious) to rip on the rarefied findings of NY Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, but I've gotta say I tend to dig his indignation as expressed through the fewer-holds-barred medium of the website's Diner's Journal. I certainly jibe with his notions of the judiciously applied dress code and the diner's right to doggie bags, but I'm almost irrationally delighted by his use of the bully pulpit to call out the stealthy price jabbings of high-end restaurants.

He specifically cites the same outrageous charges (his boiling point is $7, mine was $6) for postprandial tea that I'd kvetched about a while back. Nothing falutin', not a monkey-harvested Pur-eh or shade-grown sencha -- just in his case a mint T-brand tea (which tea purists would prefer we refer to as a "tisane" rather than a tea as it's actually an herbal infusion, but I digress) which at $17.95 for 1.76 oz tin, retail, would surely produce, uh, more than 2.56 cups. Yes, service, water heating, cups, rent, etc. don't come for free but still, the whole enterprise is quite crabby-making in this strained economy.

Mr. Bruni, we salute your foray into the consumer advocacy front and will be following the "That Costs What?!?" series juuuust as soon as you get that pesky RSS tag fixed ravenously.

[via: New York Times Diner's Journal]
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]]>consumer advocateConsumerAdvocatefood pricesFoodPricesfrank bruniFrankBruninew york timesNewYorkTimesrestaurant pricingRestaurantPricingKat Kinsman2008-07-11T19:00:00+00:00Rooibos 101 - South Africa's red teahttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/04/what-is-rooibos/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/04/what-is-rooibos/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/04/what-is-rooibos/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Rooibos in tea ball

There are a lot of ways that tea blenders use rooibos (sometimes called "red tea") these days, whether it's in a straight herbal tea (tisane) or blended with real teas to add flavor to the blend. A quick glance at Wikipedia shows that one common way to describe its flavor is "sweet (without sugar added) and slightly nutty" and I find this to be true. Sometimes I find myself mistaking a rooibos flavor for adding vanilla in a blend, only slightest earthier.

What is rooibos? When I started STeaP with my co-host Joe, I asked the same question of Joe and was told that it's a tree bark, but have since learned that rooibos is a bush-like plant that belongs to the legume family. It's native to South Africa, specifically the Western Cape region. Rooibos is completely caffeine-free, so it's a healthy alternative for those who avoid caffeine.

Preparation of a straight rooibos is the same as that of a black tea (boiling water temperature, additives such as milk and sugar can add to the experience), and processing of the rooibos plant is also similar, involving oxidation (which is often inaccurately referred to by the tea world as "fermentation"). There is an unoxidized form of rooibos (commonly called "green rooibos" as opposed to red), but it's less commonly used and more expensive than the typical "red tea." When preparing a tea with rooibos, remember to keep in mind that rooibos is very, very fine and dust can often slip through tea balls and other infusers. Use a very fine mesh infuser to make your rooibos, such as the Finum brewing basket.

Rooibos is used by almost every tea company I frequent, many creating blends that focus on the rooibos as a primary component, while some add rooibos more as an added flavor to a traditional tea. I've seen very creative uses, such as rooibos chai, rooibos earl grey, and in South Africa, there is a company that has patented a red espresso. I personally recommend Adagio's Foxtrot tea (it's actually a tisane), which is my favorite way to enjoy rooibos. What's your favorite way to enjoy rooibos?
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]]>brandicefeaturedherbal teaherbal teasHerbalTeaHerbalTeasred teaRedTearooibossouth africaSouthAfricateatea blendTeaBlendtisaneBrandice Schnabel2008-07-04T12:01:00+00:00Make backyard iced tea with Staghorn Sumachttp://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/02/make-backyard-iced-tea-with-staghorn-sumac/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/02/make-backyard-iced-tea-with-staghorn-sumac/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/07/02/make-backyard-iced-tea-with-staghorn-sumac/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

staghorn sumac

In continuing with the backyard wild teas, I can't let summer pass by without mentioning this wild lemonade substitute. Sumac grows like a weed in this country. It is a relative to the much hated poison sumac, but as the flowers give way to the fruit, you can't mistake this harmless, small tree for anything else.

The branches are fuzzy, hence the name of this variety. The fuzzy clusters of fruit are what we're after. Watch these from June through September and grab the red ones, as they ripen, but before the rain hits them and washes away the flavor. Soak a couple of clusters in a pitcher of ice-cold water in your refrigerator for one to two hours. Your taste buds will know how long. Keep the water cold to prevent bitterness. Strain the results through a fine strainer, or cloth, and serve sweetened. It has a very lemonade-like flavor.

Since these trees seem to grow almost anywhere, please be careful of pollutants and heavy traffic. I doubt anyone would be upset with you for over picking these giant weeds though. See you on the trail!

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]]>sumacteawild edibleswild teaWildEdiblesWildTeaNeil Goldstein2008-07-02T14:01:00+00:00