DESSERT

Rooibos Powder: Get the Scoop

November 25, 2015 by Tealchemy

The holidays are around the corner and all we want to do is bake, eat, sleep and repeat. So, we’ve decided to devote the next 30 days to experimenting with our tea powders and sharing recipes as we go!

Matcha powder might be all the rage, and we’re 100% guilty of playing favourites, but today we’re going to talk about our less-celebrated Rooibos Tea Powder. Its flavour profile is earthier and nuttier (without any actual nuts), and goes so well with all the traditional ingredients and spices that we’ve come to associate with the holidays.

Using tea powders when you bake may not be conventional, but it shouldn’t be intimidating either. Once you understand their individual flavour, sensory portrait, and optimal pairings, incorporating and substituting them into your own recipes is a no-brainer.

NOTE: Keep in mind, when using tea powders you’re experiencing the concentrated form of the leaf in terms of flavour potency. The WHOLE leaf is ground and the WHOLE leaf dissolves in your respective beverage or recipe, as opposed to the more watered-down version of brewed loose-leaf tea. Less powder goes a long way. Plus, you save time and dishes by skipping steeping-steps. Win-win!

When using tea in recipes, it’s critical to understand flavour profiles and complimentary flavours. So, what’s a tea drinker looking for in a quality cup of Rooibos? Primarily “honey,” “woody,” “spicy,” and “caramel”, are the adjectives sommeliers and Rooibos distributors use to describe the perfect cup of rooibos. Of course, there are many different blends (and qualities) of Rooibos with varying flavour profiles, but in general, the pure red tisane has a natural hint of sweetness, tempered by heady earthiness.

Food Pairings

Spices: Cinnamon, chai
Fruits: Apples, oranges, pears, raspberries, coconut
Vegetables: Butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin
Meat: Chicken, pork
Sweeteners: Chocolate, vanilla, caramel

RECIPE: White Chocolate & Rooibos Powder Fudge

Photo & Recipe courtesy of http://drizzleanddip.com

You will need:

2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups cream
2 tbsp liquid glucose
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp rooibos powder
100gm white chocolate

Instructions:

Grease or line about a 20cm x 20cm tin / container, depending how thick you want the fudge to be
Put all the ingredients in a pot a bring to the boil
When its boiling allow it to carry on boiling over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes and until it reaches 118 C on a sugar thermometer (this is the ‘fudge’ stage)
Take it off the heat and carry on stirring until it cools. Note: this gets harder as the fudge gets thicker and hardens. It gets to the point where it starts hardening and setting on the sides of the pot, so make sure to tip it into a lined/greased container before this happens.
Smooth it out and store in the fridge to set. Cut into squares.

We encourage you to try this recipe and share your photos on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us @tealchemy and spread the love! Stay tuned for more recipes.

Click photo below to shop our Rooibos Powder.

Do You Oolong? You Should!

June 10, 2014 by Tealchemy

It may seem like tea is suddenly trending and for good reason! Many have only recently discovered that not only are there hundreds of delicious tea blends, but that they’re also extremely healthy for you.

One of the blends that have recently gained popularity is Oolong Tea. ‘Oolong’ comes from the Chinese name ‘wu long’- ‘wu’ meaning black and ‘lung’ meaning dragon.

There are a number of varieties of Oolong; among them are Dung Ti and Ti Kuan Yin. The latter is named after the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. There’s a great story behind this tea. Legend goes that in Fujian Province- China, there was an old crumbling temple with a statue of Guanyin. Each day, a poor farmer would pass the temple on the way to his fields. Seeing its poor condition, he developed a habit of sweeping the temple and lighting incense a few times per month. Finally, one day Guanyin appeared to him, and told him of a cave where he would find treasure. Waiting there he found a single rare tea plant. From this plant, he became known for the finest teas in his land!

Many tea enthusiasts love Oolong for its depth of complex flavours and aromas. All Oolongs are great to pair with smoked foods, lightly spicy or curried dishes and buttery desserts. Oolong’s taste generally falls in the range between green and black teas because it’s only partially oxidized. The particular level of oxidization depends of the desired style of Oolong. Finished teas can vary in colour from blue-green to brown.

If you have a sweet tooth, try an Oolong after dessert as well. The polyphenols in Oolong may actually support healthy teeth. Just like Green Tea, Oolong boasts plenty of antioxidants that are effective at removing toxins from the body, and some say, will promote healthy skin. In fact, a 2001 trial study of the affects of Oolong for people struggling with skin conditions (eg. Eczema) found that most often, these conditions improved significantly after introducing Oolong tea for just a few weeks.

You should know that Oolong is also loaded with other health benefits. It’s a popular addition to weight loss programs because it contains the antioxidant catechin, which can boost your metabolism for up to 2 hours post consumption. Did you know Oolong may be even better at calorie-burning than green tea?

Once you try it, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to Oolong!

Head over to the Tea Boutique to try one of our Oolong Tea blends. If you’re looking for a fun way to incorporate Oolong Tea into food, check out this fun recipe for Oolong Tea Macaroons HERE.

The Making Of ~ Oolong Tea Macarons

September 25, 2013 by Tealchemy

Macarons are a very delicate and beloved pastry that comes from France made of egg whites, sugar, and almond flour. Typical fillings are buttercream or ganache. They’re most popular during high tea or at baby and/or wedding showers.

Amy Lu, a self-taught baker and the creator/owner behind Charming Desserts, an online dessert shop based in Markham, Ontario was asked to create a tea-infused recipe using one of teAlchemy’s signature blends and she created the below macaron recipe using the Dung Ti Oolong.

“I was attracted to its delicate, aromatic and sweet taste,” says Lu who infused the tea into the ganache filling along with white couverture chocolate and cream.

Oolong Tea Macarons Recipe

For the shells ~

42g almond flour

75g icing sugar

45g egg white (room temperature)

25g granulated sugar

Method

Sift almond flour and icing sugar together into a bowl.

Mix egg whites in an electronic mixer at speed 6 until it becomes foamy. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites and then increase the speed to 7.

Continue mixing the meringue until it reaches a medium-stiff peak. Fold in half of the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue in a circular motion.

Incorporate the remaining half of the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue. Continue folding until the batter falls back slowly. When the spatula is lifted, the batter should create a ribbon, but disappear within 5 seconds.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a 1-cm circle tip. Pipe out circles onto a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray, around 2-inch in diameter. Rap the bottom of the baking tray to remove air pockets and to flatten the batter. You may add chopped tea leaves on top at this time, if desired. Let piped out macarons rest for 45 minutes before placing them into the oven.

Preheat oven to 250F and bake macarons for 24 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.

Allow macarons to cool on the baking sheet. Once fully cooled, you may pipe a dollop of oolong tea white ganache onto every other shell and sandwich two shells together.

For the white ganache filling ~

7g Dung Ti oolong tea leaves

50g boiling water

60g white couverture chocolate

45g whipping cream (35%)

Method

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 25 second intervals until completely melted. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate over a double boiler if preferred.

Place the whipping cream into a sauce pan and remove from heat once it boils.

Add the boiling water to the oolong tea leaves and let steep for 2 minutes. This will allow the leaves to open and let out its flavour. Place the tea leaves into the hot cream with a lid on, and allow the cream to infuse the oolong tea for 5 minutes. Strain the leaves and add the cream to the melted white chocolate half at a time, until fully incorporated.

Cover the oolong tea white ganache with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator to set. If the ganache becomes too firm to pipe out, place it into the microwave for 5-10 seconds until it is a spreadable consistency.

Rooibos Spice Seed Cake and Rum Spice Glaze

January 16, 2013 by Tealchemy

The seed cake tasted amazing on its own but once we added the rum spice glaze, wow.

This recipe uses the following tea:
Rooibos Spice (visit the tea boutique)

This recipe was Inspired by: My excellent baking friend, Marie

Rooibos Spice Seed Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter unsalted
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 2/3 cup spelt flour (or other flour like brown rice or almond)
4 tsp rooibos spice (ground in grinder or mortar and pestle)
1 tsp baking powder
approx 2 tablespoon buttermilk (take regular milk and add vinegar and let it sit for a bit) or plain yogurt

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Add eggs 1/3 at a time. Beat well. In separate medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, rooibos spice tea grinds and baking powder. Fold gently into butter and sugar mixture. Gradually add buttermilk a little at a time to make a smooth, even consistency.
Pour batter into well-greased 8″ round cake pan. Bake in pre-heated over at 350 for 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan. Cool in pan briefly, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.*If using almond flour it will take longer to cook so add at least 10 minutes to cooking time. Use cake tester.

Rum Spice Glaze

Ingredients:

1/2 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp whipping cream (35%)
1 tbsp rum
1 tsp Rooibos Spice loose leaf tea

Combine brown sugar, butter, cream in saucepan. When melted add 1 tsp of loose leaf Rooibos Spice tea
Bring to boil over medium heat, stir until sugar dissolves.
Add rum, stir.
Once cake has cooled use tooth pick to put tiny holes in the cake. Drizzle the glaze over the cake to allow it to drip over the top and sides.
Serve!

Tea Used in This Recipe:

Visit the Tea Boutique by clicking on the tea below

Tea Suggested for This Recipe:

Visit the Tea Boutique by clicking on the tea below

Raspberry Chocolate Mint Rooibos FroYo

January 16, 2013 by Tealchemy

We understand that frozen yogurt might be more of a summer thing. Who thinks to make a refreshingly freezing treat when it’s sub zero temperatures outside? When we came up with the recipe it didn’t matter how cold it was. We needed to test this out and it was worth it.

This recipe uses the following tea:
CHOCOLATE MINT ROOIBOS (visit the tea boutique)

This recipe was Inspired by: Eat Tea by Joanna Pruess and John Harney

Chocolate Mint Rooibos is delicious with raspberries in this guilt-free treat.

Raspberry Chocolate Mint Rooibos FroYo

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup Chocolatey Mint Rooibos leaves
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
1 cup sugar (coconut or other)
1 quart plain yogurt

Bring the water just to a boil, pour it over the tea leaves, steep for 5 minutes, then strain, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
Combine the raspberries and sugar in a food processor and puree until smooth. Strain to remove the seeds, if desired.
Stir the raspberries, tea and yogurt together then pour into the canister of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturers directions.

Tea Used in This Recipe:

Visit the Tea Boutique by clicking on the tea below

Tea Suggested for This Recipe:

Visit the Tea Boutique by clicking on the tea below