This Berry Tea recipe was the winner of the February, 2011, Black Tea Recipe Contest. It was submitted by Koya Designs and judged by Chris Cason of Tavalon Tea, Cynthia Fazekas of Adagio Tea and me. We liked the specific consideration for the flavor profiles of the teas and fruits that are used in this tea, and I enjoyed this drink brewed with twice as much tea and then poured over ice to make iced tea. Koya Designs also suggested another variation -- substituting jasmine green tea and/or a tropical black tea for the gunpowder green tea and Assam black tea.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 8 minutes
Yield: About 35 cups
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup loose green tea, preferably gunpowder green tea
- 1/2 cup loose black tea, preferably Assam black tea
- 1/8 cup chopped dried cranberries
- 1/8 cup chopped dried cherries
- 1/4 tsp granulated dried orange peel
Preparation:
- Mix all the ingredients by shaking them in a glass jar with a lid.
- For each cup of tea you plan to brew, measure out 1.5 to 2 tsp. of tea mix (or 3 to 4 tsp. tea mix per cup for iced tea) and place it into a teapot or a glass measuring cup.
- Heat the appropriate amount of filtered water to 180 degrees (simmering) and pour over tea mix.
- (Optional) Stir or mix the tea as it begins to steep.
- Steep three minutes.
- Strain into a tea cup, pouring it through a strainer or a #2 or #4 coffee filter is steeping in a measuring cup.
- If desired, you can warm up the filtered tea in the microwave briefly.
- (Optional) Use sugar, stevia, or honey if you would like a sweeter tea.
- (Optional) If the tea is brewed double strength, you can pour it over ice after adding a sweetener.
- (Optional) Compost the used filter with tea mix.
