Summertime Jasmine Green Iced Tea

Summer has been fighting to make an entrance and we’ve had a couple hot days that could qualify as summery, and every summer I turn to a single, ashamedly, favorite. Sunflower brand Jasmine Green Tea, iced. Yes, that is the cheap one in the yellow/gold tin sold in every Asian market known to man. I can’t help it. I have plenty of high-end jasmine greens, but none of them make the great iced tea I know and love.

Unlike most tea brewed to become iced, do not over brew it. It will get horribly bitter. It’s a delicate ballet and they key is to make it strong enough that it stands up to some dilution from ice, but not bitter. Sure, you can cheat and just brew it to the desired strength and then put it in the refrigerator to cool it down slowly… but I prefer the instant gratification iced method. I’d say just under boil water and like 3 minutes steep, if this is bitter try 2.

It wil be a delicate flowery treat. I drink it straight but to sweeten it only use a natural sugar (yellow lump, turbinado, or palm) as white sugar or honey don’t pair well.

Enjoy!

Copycat Popeye’s Chicken Red Beans and Rice Recipe

OK I have an admission, I am addicted to Popeye’s Chicken Red beans and rice. You can hold the chicken and the biscuts even, I just need the glorious smoky, savory red beans and rice. For years now I have worked and refined, and worked some more on exacting the flavors and texture and finally I have come up with an almost perfect replica. Without further ado, I give you:

2 cans of light red kidney beans.
1 capfull (~1tsp) Liquid smoke.
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper.
~1/2tsp garlic salt. (probably a bit more)
3-4tbsp real unsalted butter.
(I also throw in a 1/4-1/2tsp of powdered red hot pepper and a dash of garlic powder for good measure.)

Put all ingredients in a pot on medium heat until it begins to boil. Smash most of the beans with spoon as they soften to help thicken everything up and continue to cook and stir often, especially once it really begins to come together or it will scorch. I’d say about 8-10 minutes before smashing some beans, and another 20-30 cooking and stirring until they reach the right consistency which is a touch soupy but thick.

For the rice:

2 cups white rice
1 tblsp butter
1tsp garlic salt

Cook the rice as normal with the addition of the butter and garlic salt. I use a rice cooker and just toss it all in at the beginning.

(if you have time – and open arteries – render some smoked hamhocks in the oven at ~200deg and use about a 1/4c of the fat instead of the liquid smoke and butter… well maybe still a little butter too.)

Everything is inexpensive and accessible, I have tried “gourmet-ing” it up and using real garlic and high-quality spices and salt/pepper and honestly it doesn’t need it. Just stick to the basics and it will happen. By using the liquid smoke and butter you get all of the flavor and a small reduction in heart problems. It still probably isn’t health food but it is delicious!

Mangia!

Thai Iced Tea – C.T.F. Brand

Thai food is one of the most underrated cuisines and one of my personal favorites, happily that seems to be changing and it starting to make in-roads into many American cities. Thai iced tea is actually something I rarely order when out but on a recent trip to a great new Thai restaurant near Pittsburgh (Nicky’s Thai Kitchen) my father had decided to try some. He was hooked, and knew his tea-swilling son would be able to find him some.

I went with C.T.F brand Thai tea which consists of very small bits of leaf, yellow #5 coloring!, and anise seed… why tea would need any colorant is beyond me, but it was the best of the options available. I brewed some up for myself to check it out, and while it still isn’t exactly my thing, it is nicely refreshing as just a plain (no sugar or half and half) iced tea. It has a kind of woody aroma and taste with a hint of the anise subtly tossed in. Nothing complex or outstanding but no glaring issues either outside of adding color to a drink that by definition is already, naturally, perfectly colored. I seriously don’t get that. He was happy to be able to enjoy this treat on his own, and throughout the summer I’m sure I’ll get use out of my bag too. I’m looking forward to using it in some cooking and maybe a homemade BBQ sauce, and also for some bubble tea. At about $4 for a pound of tea it is a great value too for what it is.

Thai Iced Tea

Por Kwan brand Thai Ice Tea Mix – 16 oz

A day in the life of a tea farmer

I use iGoogle and one of my customized feeds is from WikiHow which is filled with very random How-To type articles on any subject known to man. Today it had this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Process-Tie-Guan-Yin-(TGY)-Tea

Which takes you through the entire process of Tie Guan Yin production. Thought I’d share.

Tea and health benefits

Six months or so back I had my cholesterol checked and when the results came the nurse and doctor were discussing the results within earshot of me and in hushed tones… I figured something was wrong. They came in and asked me a bunch of questions about my diet (for those who don’t know I’m a pretty big guy about 6′3″ and 240lbs. but I’ve always been active outdoors and played sports) I’m also a “foodie” (I hate that term) and love to cook and eat adventurously and in decent quantity but for the most part I stick to reasonably healthy options (outside of the occasional Wellington, 2lb. steak, wings/pizza). I figured I was going to have to cut out all of the things I like to indulge with (triple bacon cheeseburgers)… instead they ended by telling me that my cholesterol levels were actually so low that I should probably eat some more things containing cholesterol! I was shocked. I really had no answers for them and really thought it may have been an error and came out pretty happy except for their great concern about my low numbers.

I was discussing this anomaly with my parents a couple weeks back and my mother said, “well, it’s probably all of the green tea you drink.” I am a total non-believer in miracle cure-all health claims so this never even entered my mind and I never even thought to bring it up to the doctor. It could all be coincidence, it could truly be my diet (although I highly doubt that one), genetics, it could be my love for laughter (hey, who knows), it could be Venus was aligned just so with my belt buckle that day… but it really could be the liters of tea I drink each day (almost exclusively Chinese or Japanese greens). I honestly don’t know and after her comment it sent my logical mind reeling.

I’m stumped, but after downing about 5lbs. (no lie) of meat the other night as we were out with friends at a Churrascaria (Brazilian BBQ) and a few porters I’m thinking there has to be some validity. Although I’m still overweight and balding so the magical, mystical, powers have some limitations if true.

Pi Bao Shan – Upton tea

This Chinese green tea was part of the newly re-discovered Upton Tea cache I unearthed a while back. Upon opening the sealed bag i was instantly hit with a very strong woody/smoky/oaky scent that is not normally what I prize in a green tea, but I soldiered on. The leaf itself looks a bit brown and slightly wiry and twisted, it looks as if some Bi Lo Chun snails came slightly undone but not completely.

I tossed some into my trusty gaiwan and after about 30-seconds I had to “peek” to see and smell if anything had improved because, truthfully, from the scent and look I was dreading it a bit. It was a horse of a different color! Completely different. It had no smoky/oaky notes and instead had transformed into a buttery cross between Bi Lo Chun and Long Ching (Dragonwell). The leaf had unfurled into nicely green, but ragged and torn, pieces that also were much different than the dry appearance would have suggested. After the completed steep of about 2-3 minutes I was greeted by a tea that seemed an almost perfect mix of Bi Lo Chun and Dragonwell which mirrored the scent. I am impressed at this doppleganger. After sitting a bit overtime in my gaiwan the last sips started to produce a more astringent, strong, vegetal,  and smoky taste that matched more with the initial dry aroma.

I can’t say it is a favorite because I could always have a more refined BLC or Dragonwell instead, and the later qualities that shone through are less enjoyable to me personally. But all-in-all it was surprising and enjoyable so there is also nothing “wrong” with it either.

Kindle DX – Amazon

Right now in NYC, Amazon is unveiling the new, larger, Kindle DX. The Kindle is an “eBook” reader that allows you to carry a whole library as well as periodicals, magazines, and newspapers in a 1/3″ thin device. The past 2 versions were small and a bit cramped for reading but great for portability. This new revision is much larger and able to display an 8.5″ x 11″ page natively at the cost of a larger unit. The Kindle utilizes e-ink which is easy on the eyes and battery power but unfortunately black-and-white/greyscale only. The new DX is also aimed at college students with a new partnership with textbook publishers that may finally do away with 75+lbs. of textbooks needed for a day of classes. I love to read and I really wanted to love this new device, but for me the price is still prohibitive at $489 and the lack of any sort of color is also a bit of a deal-breaker. They almost had my business, but if it fits your needs and lifestyle they are available for pre-order starting now:

Kindle DX

Kindle DX: Preorder

Pu-erh Loose Jia Ji – Upton Tea

I recently unearthed a box full of Upton samplers from late last year that had gone unopened. Upton’s is rarely a top choice of mine for almost anything these days simply due to the fact that there is better, fresher, tea available elsewhere for about the same price. Occasionally they have a rare gem or a good deal on some sort of teaware, but outside of that I normally point my web browser somewhere else.

I grabbed one of the sealed foil pouches containing “ZH65 Pu-erh Loose Jia Ji” as this is one of their upper-level puerhs and claims to be mellow and respectable. Out of the packet my hopes diminished a bit because it consisted of small bits of broken medium brown leaf almost entirely. It brewed up to a nice medium brown though that didn’t have any harsh notes in the aroma. A very mild earthy quality, but nothing like a dank, mushroomy, potting soil earthy… instead it was light and inviting. The first sip put a lot of my uncertainty to rest as it was quite good! It followed through with a very mellow/mild earthy tone as described on the packaging and it didn’t exhibit any of the unpleasant hallmarks of young or lower quality puerh. It wasn’t overly strong, brewing up to a super dark liquor as some do (and as some, not me, may prefer), but just right on all accounts.

This was a welcomed exception to the rule and a nice little find for a slightly chilly Tuesday morning, hopefully that box continues to produce more like this one.

Premium Goji Tea – Biomix

OK, so I’m a man of my word and a guy by the name of Kevin Shin left a quasi-spam comment touting his Korean Goji Berry tea and I explained that if he wanted to send a small sample that I would be happy to fairly cover it. I was even willing to pay shipping to keep things fair and on the up and up completely.

I had previously tried a terrible raspberry/goji/green tea melange with hibiscus which was an abomination in a cup and covered it recently. It did include whole raspberries and goji berries though, that, while tart, made for a nice snack once I tossed out the liquor. Goji berries are supposed to have all kinds of magical powers and health benefits… by now you should know those types of things mean little to me so that won’t enter into my appraisal at all. Goji, or Wolf, berries are small oblong red berries that have a tart/acidic flavor.

This Goji tisane comes in individually wrapped teabags which contain a brown powder consisting of: (all natural) 90% Gojiberry, 1% Solomon’s seal, 8% Wild Rice, and 1% Cassia tore from the Korean packaging. The smell is of dried hay/grass/wheat initially.  It can be brewed in hot or cold water as the powdered contents brew up fully and quickly no matter what. The brew retains the roasted grain notes almost entirely as does the flavor which has just a hint of tartness from the berries at the end. It reminds me of hojicha(Japanese green tea and toasted puffed rice) slightly. I have to say it isn’t really tea, and as such it isn’t a very deep or rewarding experience, but for what it is – it is an enjoyable drink actually. I find myself coming back to it for the unique flavor, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy hojicha. It’s better than I had expected and I could see how for someone interested in the medicinal aspects it would be a great option, as a daily drink in lieu of most other teas maybe not so much but on occasion it has it’s place.

The Dragonhead – Tea Account

One of my other passions is reading, in fact I generally set a goal of 52 books per year and chronicle them at my other blog: http://read52in52.blogspot.com/. I am currently reading “The Dragonhead” by John Sack which offers up the true story of the Chinese version of The Godfather… The Dragonhead. It’s a decent book, I’m about halfway through, and I came across a vivid account of tea peparation. I’m always excited to find these kinds of accounts because tea rarely makes more than a passing mention in most books. This one was particularly interesting because it was quite thorough and poetic but more importantly it mentioned a tea I have never heard of, and even after some research still do not have a full explanation of. Here is the excerpt:

“At midnight he’s sitting at a teak coffee table, a troop of monkeys carved into it, a sheet of glass over them, he’s eating the mangos and mongosteens (but not the maloderous durians) brought in a bamboo basket by Mrs. Old Fox. She then brings a tall and red-flowered can of chiu chao tea that Old Fox prepares like an alchemist concocting the secret elixer of life. The tea leaves, he first shakes into a ceramic pot engraved with a mountainside scene. The water (which started as rain, which fell on his roof, then went to a pipe, a ceramic barrel, a bottle, and an aluminum pot, then the old gangster boiled it over kerosene on his monkey-troop table)– the water he pours on the waiting leaves. At once he pours it off again, explaining to Johnny in Cantonese, “The first batch of water isn’t strong,” then he pours a second dose that, a while later, he pours with a flourish into Johnny’s pink-flowered cup. The tea’s almost black, like Turkish coffee.

“It’s wonderful tea,” says Johnny appropriately.”
 
The Dragonhead: The Godfather of Chinese Crime–His Rise and Fall

 

If anyone has any insight on “Chiu Chao” tea I’d love to know!