Ethiopian Spiced Tea
When we published Brew News last week, Tropical Storm Nicole, soon to be “one of the strongest storms on record to hit Bermuda” had just turned her eye toward the island.
Our story this week is about Ethiopian Spiced Tea — not hurricanes thank heaven — but before we turn your taste buds toward East Africa we wanted to express our thanks that every one of our staff came through this safe and sound and offer our kudos to Bermuda’s National Security Minister in yesterday’s Bernews when he said,
We should stop saying we were lucky with this storm, instead we should say we were strong. And let us never forget that we, as a community and as a people, united.
— Jeff Baron
In our original pre-Nicole October 11th Brew News post (this post was revised on February 10, 2017) we featured our Fine African Tea creations. We’re adding all new specialty tea blends from world-renowned tea masters to our loose, sachet and teabag offering, but in the meantime you can select from Bermuda’s most exquisite collection of single cup, black, green, Rooibos red, herbal and Chai teas at tea time or anytime.
This week we’re featuring a heart-warming spiced tea infusion of Ethiopian origin that steeps as beautifully for breakfast as it does for brunch or chilled over ice at an afternoon tea party; and two other, untraditional herbals that you can brew at home in your single-cup brewer.
Ethiopian Spiced Tea Recipe
Ingredients
Ethiopian Spiced Tea Blend (spice blend makes enough for 8 cups)
- 1 teaspoon ground or whole green cardamoms
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or broken cinnamon sticks
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or you can substitute with an equal amount of mace)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves or 2 teaspoons of whole cloves
You will also need
- 1 cup water per serving
- sliced fresh ginger to taste (Your first time at this? Try a 1/4″ thick sliver about the size of a quarter)
Directions
- Mix the spices (not the fresh ginger) together in a small bowl (leftover spice mix stores well if you keep it sealed)
- Bring the water almost to a boil
- Add 1/8 teaspoon of the spice mixture to a teapot for each cup
- Simmer the infusion for 4-5 minutes
- Pour the spiced tea through a tea strainer or a fine sieve lined with a coffee filter or paper towel
Whether you need an afternoon change-of-pace taste at the office or a Sunday afternoon oasis of quiet at home (maybe as you’re chillin’ with a Brew News bedtime story) here are two Celestial Seasonings teas: the first, India Spice Chai, contains the naturally-occurring caffeine in black tea; and the second, Mandarin Orange Spice, an orange peel and hibiscus-based tea, is completely caffeine free.
India Spice Chai
A pot of chai fills homes with a delicious aroma that says welcome like nothing else.
Celestial Seasonings’ original India Spice Chai is blended from premium teas combined with natural spices and exotic flavours. Sweeten with sugar or honey, then add milk or your favorite substitute. Enjoy the health benefits of antioxidant-rich tea and spices.
Ingredients: black tea, cinnamon, ginger root, roasted chicory root, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, Chinese star anise, vanilla bean and other natural flavours (contains caffeine)
Mandarin Orange Spice
A naturally caffeine-free medley of oranges mingled with piquant leaves, Mandarin Orange Spice herbal Tea embraces the essence of an oriental paradise. At your fingertips, the flavor of luscious oranges and cloves to create an exotic and 100% natural experience.
Mandarin Orange Spice herbal tea by Celestial Seasonings has the allure of the mysterious Far East. Tuck yourself into a private nook, and indulge yourself in enchanting land of pure, natural, caffeine-free heaven.
Ingredients: orange peel, hibiscus, roasted chicory, rosehips, blackberry leaves, chamomile, hawthorn, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, natural mandarin orange and other natural flavors. (caffeine-free)
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s look at our coffees and Ethiopian-inspired teas at Brew News. Here’s a 3-1/2 minute majestic, musical and magical look at the country from September 2016 by Relevant Films at Vimeo.
Ed: The token coffee berries are near the end; the monkeys, birds and a most beautiful girl are in the middle. Enjoy!
Origin, other sources and thanks for this Brew News edition, “Ethiopian Spiced Tea”:
- The original Ethiopian Spiced Tea recipe (our version has been edited for clarity and to give you the option of using whole spices) is courtesy Epicurious [October 2000] and you can find another Ethiopian Hot Tea at Eleni Woldeyes’ all-natural Ethiopian foods blog post [December 2014.]
- This week’s tea-flavoured images came from Unsplash — Free (do whatever you want) high-resolution photos.
Related resources:
- Edward Lane at Men’s Health with “6 Reasons to Drink more Green Tea” — February 23, 2016
