14 Modern and Stylish Tea Infuser and Tea Strainer – DesignSwan.com

14 Modern and Stylish Tea Infuser and Tea Strainer – DesignSwan.com

Looks like lots of creativity going on as of late in the world of tea strainers.  You've got to see these for yourself.  My favorite is the Jaws tea strainer.  If I had that strainer I would only drink Hibiscus tea exclusively.
 

Check 'em out!

Whole Wheat Matcha Granola Flaxseed Scones with Matcha Icing

This is a quick and easy recipe that you can pull together in minutes(assuming you have all of the right ingredients).  It's a very flexible recipe, so if you don't have matcha you can leave it out; you can add apples, raisins, cinnamon, etc.  But adding matcha is a fun twist to a great recipe.  It's so easy I pulled it together while getting my son ready for school!

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp matcha powder(a culinary grade matcha works best here, though you can use your ceremonial matcha as well)
1/4 c granola, crumbled
1 tsp flax seed
1 Tbsp old fashioned oats(optional)
1/4 c butter, chilled
1/2 c milk

Glaze: 
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp matcha
2 drops almond extract
1-2 Tbsp milk
Almond slivers or oats for garnish

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, matcha and salt into large bowl.

You will notice that when you add the matcha, the color of the mixture will be a very light, pale green.  Once you add the liquid ingredients, the color will change to a deeper, darker green.

Incorporate butter.  It helps to cut into very small pieces; I use my hands to work butter into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly.

Add the granola, flaxseed and oats.

Add milk, and stir mixture with a fork until it forms a soft dough.  The less you work the dough after this point, the more moist your scones will be.  (That's a good thing!).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.   Pat into two 6-inch circles for small scones, or one 6-inch circle for cafe-sized scones.  Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour.

At this point, if you don't want to make or add icing to the scones after baking, you can brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle some Sugar In The Raw on them. 

Cut each dome into 6 wedges, and separate them so that they will cook evenly.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes(small scones) or 20 - 25 minutes(large scones).

Mix all icing ingredients together.  After the scones have cooled, drizzle icing on top with a spoon, and garnish with oats or almond slivers.

Enjoy!

From the Seattle Weekly blog: Seattle's 5 Best Baked Goods With Green Tea

 We love desserts made with matcha(ground green tea)! I was happy to see these excellent bakers get some love from the (somewhat) mainstream publication, the Seattle Weekly. 

In Eve Tai's blog post "Seattle's 5 Best Baked Goods With Green Tea", she says that green tea pastries "offer a novel twist from the East without giving up much of the West."  Bakers can utilize culinary grade Matcha because it can easily incorporate into dough and batter.  The challenge is to find a recipe where matcha's brilliant color and mild yet slightly grassy flavor can take center stage.

Check out her blog and pictures - the last picture of the matcha roll brings back so many memories of when my husband would make these for our store, they were indeed a hit.  Maybe he'll make me one!

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2011/05/seattles_top_5_baked_goods_with_green_tea.php

Great article on how to grow tea(Camellia Sinensis)

This year we have put a lot of work in to improve our garden and make it to where it's in a position to thrive.  We've got chickens and bunnies providing lots of fertilizer and, being the diggers that they are, soil aeration.  We've also got compost bins and worm farms working their magic to produce rich soil and worm tea. 

I started to wonder if it was possible to grow tea here.  Having worked in the tea business, we order most of our tea from Asia, where the climate is typically a bit hotter than in my region, the Pacific Northwest.  I did a search, and found a great article on how to grow tea and where to get plants and seeds. 

Tea comes from the plant Camellia Sinensis.  According to Melinda, the author of this article, c. sinensis is best grown in climate zones 7 and 8.  Fortunately for me I am in zone 7.  She says if the lovely Camellia grows in your area, then so will camellia sinensis.  Since it is a bit cold here, if I decide to grow tea I will most likely get a portable, plastic greenhouse just to be safe. 

 

(a Camellia flower)

As for processing the tea bush once it is ready, that is a bit more involved.   But given the time it takes for camellia sinensis to mature(up to 3 years from seed to harvest), you'll have plenty of time to learn the intricacies of harvesting and processing.

Please read the article for all the details! http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=1053

Three Tree Tea Company Introduces Red Ninja Organic Rooibos Latte Powder

(New product Press release)

May 17, 2011

Three Tree Tea Company is pleased to introduce the newest addition to its tea line, Red Ninja Organic Rooibos Latte Powder. Three Tree Tea Company has been a leader in providing unique latte powder blends, incorporating only the highest quality tea with sugar to make simple, delicious tea latte blends that satisfy the need of customers looking for specialty coffee alternatives. It all started in 2002 when Ippuku Matcha Latte Powder was created. Today, Ippuku Matcha Latte Powder is sold in coffee shops, tea shops and Asian groceries across the U.S. A.

Rooibos, or red bush tea, is a cherished herb in South Africa. It is said to help relieve insomnia, nervous tension, indigestion and allergic symptoms. Research shows that it also contains the highest known levels of antioxidants of any plant on earth. Rooibos is quite beneficial to pregnant women and infants because of its anti-allergic properties. Rooibos has a deep, smooth and soothing flavor. It contains no caffeine.

Red Ninja Organic Rooibos Latte Powder is the most recent addition to Three Tree Tea Company’s distinct tea latte powder lineup. Other blends include Black Ninja Tea Latte Powder, Ippuku Matcha Latte Powder, Dosukoi Houji(Roasted Green Tea) Latte Powder and Ippuku Ginger Matcha Latte Powder.

All of Three Tree Tea’s blends feature 100% stone ground tea powder blended with sugar. They contain no preservatives or fillers, and are non-dairy. They easily blend with any kind of dairy, rice, almond or soy milk. They can be served hot, iced or blended as a frappe. All of Three Tree Tea’s shelf-stable powders are packaged in foil pouches and are recloseable.

Three Tree Tea Company is proud to be leading the way in creating superb and unique tea beverages that are perfect for foodservice use. Three Tree Tea Company is located in Burien, Washington. For more information on the company visit www.threetreetea.com.

Sakura no shiozuke

 

The cherry blossom trees are in full bloom here, and the petals are now starting to drift off of the trees like pink snowflakes.  We have several different varieties on our block, with petals of different sizes and shades of pink.  As I walked my son to school today, I noticed that the wind had gently blown the petals into several small mounds along the edge of the sidewalk.  Given our historically cold and wet Spring, the long-awaited sight of flowers cheered me up a bit.

I think that I will help myself to some not-yet matured petals from my neighbor's tree(of course I'll ask first!) and attempt to make some sakura shiozuke(salted cherry blossoms).  Sakura shiozuke is used to flavor cherry blossom tea, and in food presentation as a garnish.  You can also use your shiozuke to make sakura rice.  It's a nice way to preserve the otherwise fleeting beauty of the sakura. 

I found a recipe from Tsukublog that I will try and report back to you as to the results:

Cherry blossoms must be picked before full bloom.  It's best to use Yaezakura - more than 5 blossoms per bud. 

Ingredients: 

12 ounces of cherry blossoms
3 tablespoons of salt
3 tablespoons of plum vinegar

Directions: 

1. Wash the blossoms squeeze out excess water.
2. Cover thoroughly with salt.
3. Place heavy item to cover the top of the blossoms, such as a drop lid, and let rest in refrigerator for 3 days.
4. Drain excess liquid.
5. Add plum vinegar, and refrigerate for 3 days.
6. Again, drain excess liquid.
7. Spread out cherry blossoms on a plate and let air dry for 3 days.
8. Store in a glass jar, and add more salt. 
9.  Enjoy!