Does anybody know of a good home-made iced tea recipie?
October 29, 2010
Hi, i love iced tea and would love to make my own home-made iced tea. I’ve tried a couple recipes but they didn’t work and I ended up wasting a load of ingredients. Does anybody know of a good home-made iced tea recipe which has been tried and definitely does work?
This is how I make it:
Put 1 tsp Tetley loose tea in a glass 4-cup measure
Add hot water & let steep for about 5 minutes
Pour through a mesh strainer into a 2 qt glass pitcher
Add 4 cups of room temp. water
Put in fridge – don’t add ice until it’s cooled, if you want it
Got it from Good Eats, tried it & it tastes great. You can use any tea (including flavored) if you want something different. Since sugar won’t dissolve in cold liquids, if you want it sweet, just make some simple syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water , boil 3 minutes & cool) and add as much as you need.
Tips in Hosting a Tea Party
October 20, 2010
One of the best ways to catch up with friends and loved ones is to hold a tea party. This way, all of you can have a lovely time enjoying tea and light snacks while exchanging stories at the same time. Now, hosting a tea party is not that difficult a thing to do. In fact, it is very easy. However, if this is the first time that you are going to host a tea party, then here are some simple tips that you can learn from.
First, depending upon the number of guests, you can either arrange a table for serving or arrange a table both for serving as well as for eating. If you chose the former, your guests will have to option to mingle about while they are served their teas, and if you chose the latter, your guests will be comfortably seated while the tea is served.
Another way to make it easy for you to host a tea party is that you should have everything you will need for the tea party on hand, and all the items should be positioned neatly at one end of the table where you will be serving the tea from. These items include not only the teapot and teaspoons as well as the teacups and their saucers, but it should also include the usual tea condiments like milk, sugar, and lemon. You should also include a pitcher that contains hot water for those who want to dilute their teas.
Your light snacks such as cookies and muffins or slices of cake and scones should be placed in the middle of the table. This way, your guests will have easy access to the refreshments. It would also be nice to include tea sandwiches in your refreshment selection to give your guest a number of light snacks to choose from.
Lastly, be sure to ask them what they prefer before preparing and serving your guests their teas. Would they want sugar with their tea? Or milk? Or lemon? If they chose lemon and sugar, you must remember to always add sugar before you add in the lemon so as to easily dissolve the sugar.
It is not unusual to serve two types of teas in a tea party, and you can place each of the tea sets on both ends of the serving table. However, it would be impossible for you to serve both types of teas to your guests at the same time. For this reason, you would need the help of one of your friends in serving the other type of tea. Be sure to ask them in advance though if they are willing to serve the other tea, and not spring the request on them on the day of the tea party itself.
What part of the hibiscus flower do I use to make tea?
October 20, 2010
I picked off a few hibiscus blossoms off a bush in my yard to dry them out and make tea. On hibiscus tea recipes, it says to us the calyx of the plant. That is what is confusing me. Do I just use the calyx or do I use the whole flower, petals and all? Also, if I just need the calyx, should I go ahead and pick off the petals if I don’t need them? Thanks!
According to the website listed below, it says to use the whole petal. Not sure what a calyx is.
The Other Uses of Tea
October 12, 2010
Did you know that tea leaves are not just good for making your cup of tea? If you read books and magazines, you will find out that there are many uses for teas, aside from the fact that it is a very good refreshing beverage. So, what are the other uses of tea? And how can you use it for your cooking?
Tea can also be used as some sort of a spice that can add intriguing flavors into you dish. What you can do is to grind and mix the grinded tea leaves with white pepper and then rub it thoroughly onto a steak. This will lend an Asian flavor to an otherwise bland steak. The tea leaves mixed with white pepper also works wonders to pork chops.
Do not throw away those tea leaves left in the pot because another way that you can reuse tea leaves is to add them to your marinade mix for your chicken meat. Not only will this lend a very intriguing taste to your meal, but it will also leave your guests wondering what the familiar yet elusive flavor could be.
Another use of tea leaves is that they also work wonders as an aromatic agent to any dish. All you have to do is to add a small amount of tea leaves to any dish such as rice, and once the cooking is done, you will notice that the tea leaves have lent a very aromatic smell to the rice and that it also infused levels of flavors into the dish, making the otherwise bland rice more interesting and more delicious.
Aside from using tea in your cooking, there are medicinal uses for teas, too. In fact, it is often given to patients who are suffering from sore throats as it sooths away the soreness. Tea is also given to individuals who are suffering from cough, especially since teas are known to loosen up phlegm and cough, thus, making it easy for the patient to expel the mucus. Teas are also perfect for those who are suffering from upset stomachs.
Other unconventional uses for tea include remedy for razor burns and canker sores as well as a remedy for an infected cut. Simply wet a teabag and then place it over the area where the canker sore, the razor burn, or the infected cut is and let it stay there fore a few minutes. Teas contain tannin, and what it does is to draw out any moisture from the affected area so as to allow the area to start its healing process.
Teabags can also be used as a remedy for your puffy eyes, and all you will have to do is to squeeze out any remaining liquid from the teabags and then place them over your eyes for a few minutes, preferably 20 minutes.
There are just some of the other uses of teas as there are more ways that you can use this very beneficial beverage.
How do you put together an authentic British High Tea?
October 10, 2010
Can anyone tell me what sorts of foods are served at a proper high tea? (Recipes please if possible) Also, what (besides cucumber) are the makings of a proper cucmber sandwich? (type of bread, condiments, if any etc.) Thanks so much. I am giving a tea for the senior citizens at my church and I thought an authentic British High Tea would be quite lovely.
Also, what sort of tea would you recommend be served? Is there an "order" to the ways things are served etc.? I am in the US so my tea varieties would not be as extensive as in the UK but I believe I can find quite a few of the more popular types which should be served.
See links below and have fun.
