Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Kitchen Spells...Something Special is Brewing!

Hello my Friends!!!

 I am back again with another Concoction from my Kitchen, this time I will share my quick and simple recipe for an iced tea Blend that is purrfect for any occasion! Zoey Beth agrees...I am sure you will too!

~Jasmine Infused Tea~
A Kitchen Spell by Dena K. Miller

Ingredients as follows:
4-6 Organic Jasmine Green Tea Bags
Approx 6 cups of Hot Water
Sugar or other sweetener optional(such as a simple syrup)
Ice

How to:
Fill a large pitcher with hot water, I do not use boiled water because I like the tea to steep/brew slowly.
Next add 4-6 Jasmine Green Tea Bags




Allow to steep/brew until the water turns a lovely color...the longer you brew, the stronger the tea.
Next remove the tea bags and fill your favorite glass with the Jasmine infused tea
Add ice and enjoy.


If you want to add sugar, I suggest doing so before your tea is chilled from the ice.  I have found that it will mix better that way.  Now, if you would rather add a simple syrup mixture, you can add it before or after the ice.  Some of you may want to add your sugar or syrup directly into the pitcher.  That is fine to do too if you want the entire brewed mixture to be sweetened.

For the simple syrup ...just mix equal parts sugar and water, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cool completely.  You can store this mixture in your refrigerator for about 2-3 weeks.  When I make it, I like to do a large batch so I can add it to other things I stir up in my kitchen....Hmmm, perhaps at another time, I will share my Kitchen Spell recipe for Coffee Liqueur♥ Are you interested? 


Thought you might like this...Here is some info on Jasmine Tea:
Jasmine tea is consumed in China, where it is called jasmine-flower tea pinyin: mò lì huā chá). Jasminum sambac flowers are also used to make jasmine tea, which often has a base of green or white tea, but sometimes an Oolong base is used. Flowers and tea are "mated in machines that control temperature and humidity. It takes four hours or so for the tea to absorb the fragrance and flavour of the jasmine blossoms, and for the highest grades, this process may be repeated as many as seven times. It must be refired to prevent spoilage. The spent flowers may or may not be removed from the final product, as the flowers are completely dry and contain no aroma. Giant fans are used to blow away and remove the petals from the denser tea leaves. In Okinawa, Japan, jasmine tea is known as sanpin cha
 Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmine

Well then, there you have it!  My way of making Iced tea is so easy!  I started making tea this way because I would set the pitcher out in the sun(Sun Tea).  Instead of using hot water, I would fill the pitcher with cold water.  I found however, that I could use hot water from the start and speed up the brewing process. Please give this a try, you can make any kind of tea that you want.  Let me know if you try it out, what you think of this method.  I believe that you will like it, it saves a lot of time.

Stay tuned for my next Kitchen Spells post...
~Garden Grilled Zucchini and Artisan Bacon Lettuce & Tomato Sandwiches with Sweet Red Onion♥

Much Love,
♥♥♥
Milady Leela

2 comments:

  1. Hi Dena!!
    This post is wonderful! The Jasmine Tea looks so refreshing!! Thanks for all the info on the background of Jasmine Tea, I never knew all of that before! Interesting! Oh and btw, I am SO on board for that coffee liqueur!! That sounds so delicious! Thank you for the simple syrup recipe, I have never tried that before, but I will def have to now! I can't wait for your next Kitchen Spells post! I think i love ANYTHING with zucchini OR bacon in it
    :-X , sorry my inner fat kid kid comes out every now and then LOL!

    Justina
    xoxo

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    Replies
    1. Oh so glad you enjoyed reading!!! It is refreshing, I think you would enjoy it!!! Glad to have also shared a the simple syrup with you...so easy too and yes...the coffee liqueur is to die for!!! I know you will love it! I hope to do the next Kitchen Spell post soon!! Thinking about it now♥
      xoxo
      Dena

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