Gourmet Iced Tea Recipe: Honey Red Jade Black Tea
Red Jade Tea - also known as Taiwan Tea No. 18, brews a rich, full-bodied tea with subtle hints of clove, cinnamon and mint in its complex composition.
Gourmet Loose-Leaf Iced Tea In 3 Easy Steps
- Brew your tea at a ratio of 1:40, loose-leaf tea : water (1:30 if unsweetened/unflavored). Boiling temp. water. Brew 7 minutes.
- Pour the brewed tea into a a cocktail shaker full of ice, add whatever flavoring, and shake.
- Pour the well shaken iced tea into glasses half-full of ice cubes.
The innovation of using a cocktail shaker to make iced teas began in the 1980's in Taiwan, when the founder of Taiwan's most popular tea house chain created his own original recipes. This "shaker tea" quickly gained popularity, generally referred to as "bubble tea" or "foam tea" (泡沫茶). This was further innovated upon when recipes using tapioca balls were introduced to make various concoctions of "pearl milk tea" (珍珠奶茶). When these recipes made their way to North America, "bubble tea" or "boba tea" became the English translation of "pearl milk tea" in Chinese.
Iced tea recipe for 500ml of Honey Red Jade Black tea
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Brew 9g of Red Jade Black Tea leaves in 400ml of boiling temp water for 7 minutes
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Fill a 550ml cocktail shaker 3/4 full with ice cubes, add 1/2-1 tsp. of honey
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Pour brewed tea into the shaker, cap it, and shake for about 20 seconds
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Pour into a pint glass or two smaller glasses half filled with ice cubes
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The honey, or any other added sweetener, should only be enough to enhance the flavor of the tea, rather than mask it. Enjoy!
Notice how shaking the tea offers a nice foamy head on the the iced tea, and seems to enhance the flavor. Feeling adventurous? Try blending it for a frozen version!
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