"tisane" news and stories

Backyard Tea: Sweet Goldenrod Leaves

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Aug 28th 2008 @ 11:01AM

From the loading dock/back door of my brewery/distillery I look out past the parking lot to a sea of green, yellow, and purple as well. I love the color combination of bright golden yellow and green. This time of year that usually means Sweet Goldenrod.

Sweet Goldenrod leaves make a great herbal tea, also called a tisane. The leaves, when fresh picked have a delicate anise-like aroma, mixed with a bright green herbal hints as well. the leaves can be brewed into tea, whether fresh leaves, or dried. The fresh leaves make a delicate tea with more of the anise-like flavor, but I prefer the leaves dried. When slow-dried they have a light anise and bright green/gold flavor. If you dry them in a low oven with the door ajar, watching them carefully so they don't scorch, you get a more pronounced, warm , golden, deep, anise and hay complexity; with a touch of agreeable bitterness. A bare hint of sugar or honey round it out and make for an exceptional tisane.

Besides tasting great, Sweet Goldenrod tea has some medicinal benefits. According to Peterson Field Guide of Medicinal Plants, it has been used as a digestive stimulant, for stomach cramps, coughs, colds, and more. As with all wild edibles and medicinals, one should only try a small sample for the first time. You never know if you may have an allergy or reaction of some type and Sweet Goldenrod may cause minor allergies to some people. If after trying a small sample you feel fine, you can try larger amounts.

Making Sweet Goldenrod Leaf Tea

Backyard Tea: Sweet Goldenrod Leaves(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Filed under: Wild Edibles

Water for tea: Temperature matters

COMMENTS 10

by Brandice Schnabel, Posted Jul 16th 2008 @ 9:01AM

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).

Filed under: Drink Recipes, How To

Rooibos 101 - South Africa's red tea

COMMENTS 7

by Brandice Schnabel, Posted Jul 4th 2008 @ 12:01PM

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?

Filed under: Did you know?, Drink Recipes