A blend of one’s own
I’ve been getting very creative in the kitchen lately, and one afternoon I was rummaging through my tea cabinet and came across a tea blend I made ages ago.
I was suddenly hit with a little flutter of inspiration and decided that I was going to forge ahead with a new blend of my own.
Creating a custom blend of tea is simple at best, but a very rare practice at home. Perhaps it’s all of the already well-crafted blends on the shelves that deter us from making our own, or maybe it’s the convenience of them. But it’s possible that we’ve never really considered it because we didn’t know we could. Well, you can. And there’s no better time than the present.
To blend your own tea you’ll need to choose which actual tea you want to use as your base. To clarify here, the definition of tea is that it comprises the camellia sinensis plant. Variance in the production process of this plant will lead it into different styles such as green tea, black tea, oolong tea and white tea (among others).
Anything apart from this plant is considered an herbal, or a tisane, but not tea itself. Blending teas is really about mixing tea with tisanes, such as the famous Moroccan Mint (a green tea blended with peppermint) for example.
The type of tea you choose is the foundation of your blend, and should account for two thirds (or about 65 per cent) of the mix, and needs to be loose leaf.
Here’s some advice: the style of tea you choose will steer you in a general flavour direction usually. For example, white tea is very delicate and you’ll need to choose ingredients that are very gentle in flavour to blend with, such as stone fruits and delicate flowers. Shy away from potent aromatics such as spices; it will just completely overwhelm the delicacy of the white tea base.
Green teas are ones I love to blend with, mostly because personally I’m not a fan of their inherent notes of seaweed and wet grass. Consider flavours to blend that will complement or contrast these notes, but also be careful not to go too strong, as green teas are also delicate. Many flowers work well, aromatics like ginger or lemongrass, as well as some exotic citrus fruits.
Black teas are heavy hitters, so this is where you can amp up the flavour choice. Fruits, intense flowers and finally spices are all welcomed to mingle here.
Oolong teas, highly prized for their natural floral aroma, are often not blended to preserve their natural flavours, but successful blends do exist, contrary to the purists out there.
The key is to play around, and this is the fun part. Once you’ve chosen what tea base you want to use, you can now dive into the additions. Usually the options are fruit, flowers, herbs, spices and nuts/beans (including chocolate and vanilla). Anything that you’d like to blend should be dehydrated. This can be found prepackaged or you can dehydrate in your oven (with a quick online direction for the ingredient of choice). Make sure your ingredients are cut to small and even sizes so the steeping will be consistent.
You’ll now want to taste each ingredient on its own before you blend. Simply take around two ounces of each ingredient and place each in a small cup. Then pour one cup of freshly boiled water in each and let steep for five minutes with a lid over top.
Taste each little tisane you’ve made and make note of how it tastes. This is really important, as in my experience many botanicals I think smell like heaven actually do not translate well when tasted. Once you’ve tasted them all feel free to start mixing two together and see how they blend (all without the tea base at this point).
Because about 65 per cent should be the tea itself, the other botanicals will need to play a supporting role in a strategic way. About 25 per cent of the blend should be flavours that support the base, most fruits flowers and botanicals fit here.
However, the other 10 per cent per of the blend can be your secret weapon ingredient, the most potent and powerful one that should be used cautiously. Strong flavours such as spices, for example, would be used this way.
This is a general tea industry recipe but it can be played with, and you certainly don’t have to have anything potent if you choose not to.
When you have decided on your recipe, you can put them in a bowl and mix by hand with gloves, or you can put into a mason jar and shake gently to blend.
This should be something fun and creative, so just start simple. I found some dried cherries and one vanilla bean pod in my baking cabinet, for example, and blended them with a black tea base.
In times when we need to stay home, consider it an opportunity to get creative with what you have. Look through your fridge and dehydrate the peel of a lemon or an orange. If you’re inspired by the spring blossoms you can dehydrate some but be careful to know which ones are safe and edible to do so. If it doesn’t work out the first time, try again.
Enjoy the process of creating something of your own, and who knows, you may find your own hidden talent.