A Tad on Teas

Bagged teas can be expensive and completely unnecessary considering the tasty cost-effective alternatives. While loose teas are available at high end grocery stores or health sections of some markets, The Good Earth located in Broad Ripple off Guilford Ave. sells bulk teas and herbs - many organic - for less than a dollar an ounce in most cases. For anyone desiring to be more in touch with their food, getting a bag of real chamomile flowers or rose hips may elevate the ordinary boxed teas to another level. Teas can be as flavorful as a juice, sweet like soda, and yet as nourishing if not more than a glass of water. It is gaining some popularity at coffee shops because hot tea is often the cheapest beverage on the menu, the price of a few dollars easily buys several cups of tea when buying in bulk. Another benefit is that loose whole leaf teas and herbs are much higher quality than what is often in commercial bagged teas. They take a bit longer to steep, but have richer, unmatched flavor. 

Finding the right way to brew loose teas is important, but by no means difficult. There are baskets, tea balls and even bags to fill yourself. Some bags even come ready to press shut with an iron, or even easier - a hair straightener. Pre-bagged whole leaf tea can be ridiculously expensive, but this option allows the best quality tea to be both portable and affordable. Most coffee shops won't charge much for a cup of hot water. 

Storing loose teas and herbs isn't rocket science, but they will loose some potency just sitting in cinched shut plastic bags. A good investment is to find some airtight containers, either tins or just regular tupperware type containers and keep blends and extra tea in those. Keep cool and dark, and they should get an excellent shelf life. The best thing about teas are that most spices and herbs can go into teas, as well, and because they are steeped they don't need to be powdered. Whole cinnamon bark can stay flavorful much longer than ground cinnamon, for instance.

Brewing hot teas are pretty straight forward. It's good to have anywhere from one to two tablespoons per serving of hot tea, depending on preference. Some teas are more flavorful than others, which affects how much and and how long to brew. If using herbs for medicinal purposes it is suggested to keep them brewing for 10 to 15 minutes, but in general most teas are pretty much done after 5 minutes. Black, green and white teas should steep no longer than 3 minutes in water that is either just short or that has just started boiling because they tend to get bitter. Many herbal blends and rooibos don't tend to get bitter.  If using a tea ball or some other filter system, keep herbal loose tea for brewing multiple cups in a day. Caffeinated teas, however, release 99 percent of their caffeine in the first 60 seconds of steeping, so they should be refreshed. Although it isn't always a practical reality, filtered and purified water makes cleaner tasting teas as opposed to tap water, and is preferred among true tea fiends. 

Some good herbsm spices and herbal teas to ask about. These are all caffeine free and have great medicinal benefits from energizing to relaxing, balancing blood sugar to helping with heartburn:

Hibiscus, rose hips, lemongrass, chamomile, honeybush, red and green rooibos, ginseng and Siberian ginseng, orange peel, red raspberry leaf, peppermint, spearmint, fennegreek, cinnamon, St. John's wort, licorice root, and chicory. '

Spritzers for Spring

Spring officially toasts the beginning of grilling and entertaining outside. These gatherings often serve sugary punches or alcoholic cocktails, but juice spritzers can be flavorful, refreshing and alcohol free with no added sugar. There's a huge number of varieties of mineral or sparkling water available in grocery stores, often even under a store's private label which is always a great way to save a few bucks. These waters should not be sweetened at all, even with fruit flavors like lime, orange and raspberry. The best juices to use for spritzers are unfiltered 100 percent juices or fresh squeezed juice from fresh produce. These juices are often a bit pricey compared to other juice blends, but when considering that cranberry juice cocktail, for instance, is only at most 20 percent cranberry juice, it is a great value. The other great feature of good quality 100 percent juices is that it only takes a splash or two of a juice to flavor one 10 to 12 ounce drink. 

Combining juices and sparkling waters can be as exciting as working with a full paint palette. Some great stepping stones are 100 percent cranberry juice and orange sparkling water or 100 percent cherry juice and lime sparkling water. Blueberry and lemon go well together, as well, and any sparkling lemon water with juice added tastes like sparkling berry lemonade. The best part of these drinks, as stated before, is that they contain only natural sugars. If extra sweetness is needed, agave nectar is a great choice because it will dissolve in cold beverages and has a low glycemic index. Glycemic index is a measurement of how quickly sugar enters the blood stream, and foods with low glycemic index contain energy that sticks with the body and doesn't cause high blood sugar spikes. 

Some fun ideas for garnishes are candied citrus peels, which are also great for adding to hot teas. Even peppermint leaves for freshness or thin chips of ginger for spiciness can be candied the same way. These add a touch of sweetness and a sense of fun. This is a great project to do on a day when you're going to be home most of the day. Start by taking the peel of limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits or any other citrus fruit. If using ginger, peel and slice in as thin of slices as possible. In a saucepan combine 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated (preferably raw) sugar for every cup of either ginger or citrus peels. Heat on low or medium, making sure that the sugar does not boil. If the mixture gets too hot, turn it down. Soak the citrus in the simple syrup once the sugar has dissolved and keep in for several hours, cooking slowly until the syrup has absorbed into the fruit. Remove the peels and set on a cooling rack with a paper towel underneath. It is optional at this point to add more sugar to the outsides, but is by no means necessary. They can dry overnight and then be kept in a bag or airtight container.