Food Drink Think

Thoughts on things that tickle our tastebuds

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Coconut Breeze

On occasion we travel Ste. Anne's Spa for a retreat. Over the years they have offered different brand name teas and now they have an in-house brand. During our last visit we sampled almost all of their current flavours but only one stood out as worth taking home - Coconut Breeze. This is black dessert tea flavoured with coconut and almonds. Not usually fans of coconut-flavoured foods and beverages, this tea is surprisingly delicious! Neither the coconut nor the almond flavours overpower the tea itself and provide enough sweetness that milk or sugar is not needed. A visit to the Ste. Anne's website indicates that this tea is not available for online purchase. We're hoping this is an oversight as we would love to keep this tea in regular rotation.

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Irish Whiskey Cream

This black tea from Distinctly Tea creates a drink that is think and heavy with hints of bitter cocoa. After our first sampling, we wrote "honey required" on the package to remind ourselves that this tea needs a bit of sweetening to lighten the flavour. The addition of milk dampens the taste, though, and milk-only creates a bitter, milky drink with very little nuance. This was a Christmas gift that we finally got around to finishing, so clearly we didn't love it, but it does make a good post-skate drink - perhaps with a shot of real Irish whiskey. f

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Tea: Divine Temple White

Distinctly Tea lists their Divine Temple as a white tea, but it's really a mix of white, green, Darjeeling, Sencha, Lung Ching, gunpowder, and jasmine teas with lots of dried fruit and citrus peel. With all that going on it's expectedly complex but surprisingly harmonious. It succeeds by balancing the tea flavours against the sweetness of the fruit and the floral of the jasmine. A little bit of honey enhances the flavour, but certainly isn't necessary. It also holds up well to being iced. We'll definitely get this one again for those days when we want a light tea with lots of personality.

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Tea: Christmas Rooibos

Happy Holidays! Well we finished the bag of Distinctly Tea's Christmas Rooibos just in time for Orthodox Christmas. This red tea makes a good dessert beverage and no sweetener is needed. Spiced with (what we think is) star anise and cinnamon, it certainly tastes like Christmas. Not sure if we'll get it again - it's pleasant enough, but nothing special.

[fooddrinkthink]

Manly Tea: Russian Caravan Cured Brisket

With so many teas in the world you're bound to come across a few that you just don't like. For us, it's smoked tea. Every so often we try it and just can't get over how much it tastes like burnt wood - which just doesn't seem natural for a cup of tea. But it is perfectly natural for meat! So we started using these savoury teas as seasoning in cooking and found it especially good as a meat rub. This holiday season we were given a bag of Russian Caravan from Tealish and decided to try it in a dry cured brisket:

Step 1

1 cup salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Russian Caravan Tea

Add 3 tbsp peppercorns

Step 2

Use a mortar and pestle to grind and mix ingredients together. You could use a spice grinder or even a clean coffee grinder for this, but it's more satisfying (and infinitely manlier) to use a stone to crush your meat cure.

Step 3

Rub the brisket thoroughly with the curing mix. Make sure it's well covered, but this should only use about half the cure as you'll need the rest over the coming days.

Place the meat in a tupperware container in the fridge for 12 days.

Perform the following tasks every day:

drain any liquid that has accumulated in the bottom of the container, rub 1 tbsp cure onto both sides of the brisket, turn brisket so that the top and bottom alternate

Step 4

Cook the brisket at 250 Fahrenheit for approximately 2 hours, or until it reaches 150 Fahrenheit (medium-well) in the centre.

Slice thinly and enjoy!

[fooddrinkthink]

Dreidels & Donuts

Though not Jewish ourselves, we enjoy celebrating Hannukah with our friends and, frankly, this tea sounded delicious. Dreidels & Donuts turned out to be a great dessert tea. The addition of strawberries cuts through the bitterness of the chocolate and it went well with a variety of sweets and baked goods. Excellent on its own or  with a drop of milk - but the addition of honey made it overwhelmingly sweet. As Hannukah is over, it looks like Tealish is no longer stocking it, but we look forward to buying a bigger bag next year.

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Mid-summer's Night Black

We know - a odd time of year to be posting about a "mid-summer" tea, but we just finished the bag and thought it was high time to write about this tasty blend from Distinctly Tea. Mid-summer's Night Black succeeds in being remarkably light and refreshing - no doubt owing to it's mix of black and green tea, along with dried fruit and sunflower petals. We enjoyed it on its own or with a bit of honey, which highlights its fruity flavours. Equally good iced, we'll definitely be getting this blend again after the snow melts.

[fooddrinkthink]

Tea: Creativity Rooibos

We like to keep a large selection of non-caffeinated teas as we end almost every day with a cup or two. Lately we've been drinking a lot of rooibos including the "Creativity" blend from Distinctly Tea in Stratford.  It's a savoury tea with lots of spice though the rosemary is the most distinct flavour and sometimes it threatens to overpower the others. Because of this, the tea has a slight medicinal quality.  It's a tasty tea for an after dinner beverage but it's not a "must have."

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Beer: Muskoka Summer Weiss

Who doesn't love to sit next to a pool and sip delicious summer beer? Muskoka Brewery, located in Bracebridge, is fast becoming one of our favorite Ontario brewers. Though we're not usually inclined towards lighter beers, this year we tried their summer weiss. It is pleasantly tangy and refreshing with enough complexity to keep us interested. We would like to try it with a slice of lime or lemon or maybe even orange to see if that brings out the latent citrus flavours. A very drinkable choice for a hot summer's day and only available until September 1st.

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Divine 70% Dark Chocolate

We are always looking for great fair-trade chocolate and we were happy to stumble on Divine at our local Bulk Barn. It's the kind of chocolate you'd expect to find in a trendy boutique or natural food store. It's rich and creamy with the right amount of bitterness that lets you know you're eating real chocolate.

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"Very Dark Chocolate"

This "Very Dark Chocolate" from Equal Exchange is not as dark as it claims at only 71% cacao content, however this doesn't diminish it as an excellent chocolate. Rich and smooth, it's the hint of vanilla that makes it stand out. Raw cane sugar and unrefined whole cane sugar make it surprisingly sweet - 2 squares is a perfectly satisfying treat. Bonus points for social conscience: Fair trade, organic, farmer-driven co-op, it also lets you feel morally superior while you enjoy your snack.

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Tea: Bold Leaf Pu-Erh

The tea sommelier at the Stratford branch of the Distinctly Tea franchise has pushed us outside our comfort zone of flavoured teas to try more varietals. Her recommendations have been so good that we resolved to seek out some on our own. This week we grabbed a packet of the Chinese dark tea Pu-Erh off the shelf. It's an earthy tea with notes of seaweed. We imagine it would be a great accompaniment for sushi, but we don't think pu-erh is a great sipping tea. We enjoyed it more on the second brewing - the flavour was softer and less intense. Although not traditional, we also found that a bit of sweetener mellowed the flavour. 

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Beer: Duggan's #9 IPA

Michael Duggan's IPA has been on our radar for years now, but somehow it went untasted until only a few days ago when we picked up the last bottles on the shelf of the Cabbagetown LCBO. We're pleased to say that it lived up to its reputation. A richly complex beer with a sweet maltiness balanced by a light bitterness from the hops. There is a hint of sour at the end, which we attribute to it being unfiltered. It's perfect for those of you who like a beer with personality and are looking for a hot-weather refresher. Deceptively easy to drink considering the 6.2% alcohol volume, we're planning to make it one of our go-to summer beers. 

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Beer: Bitter and Twisted

Bitter and Twisted is one of the Harvistoun Brewery offerings. As they are a Scottish craft brewer you can only find it at the LCBO. It was voted World's Best Ale at the World Beer Awards in 2007, so our expectations were high. Perhaps too high as we ended up a little disappointed. This is a perfectly decent blonde ale with a fresh taste and smooth finish but it was a very middle-of-the-road beer and lacked in personality. The 'twist' of citrus wasn't apparent at first, so we added our own lime twist which seemed to brighten it up a bit into a very quaffable summer ale. We would recommend Bitter and Twisted for anyone looking for a solid, simple ale but those whose tastes are more adventurous will probably want to pass. Bonus points for the cute mouse mascot!

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Beer: Cameron's RPA

We tried the Cameron's Brewing Company RPA - Rye Pale Ale - as it is one of Betty's current 'guest taps.' Though Cameron's tends to be hit-or-miss, we always give them a shot on the hopes of a hit and were not disappointed this time. A bold, flavourful beer, the RPA gets a big kick from the hops with a strong citrus aroma and depth from the rye. It pours a little cloudy, has a nice amber colour and a rich texture. Cameron's RPA is an overall excellent ale.

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Tea: Mount Everest & T.L.C.

On the weekend we stopped into one of our favourite teashops in Toronto - Tealish. We decided to pick up one tried & true (T.L.C. - Tea Loves Coffee) and one new adventure (Mount Everest).

T.L.C. has quickly become one of our favourite blends. It's a strong black tea mixed with coffee beans (!) and a hint of sweetness from toffee, chocolate and yogurt. You have to be careful when brewing this one - if you use too much you'll end up with a muddy mess that can't be cured with milk or sweetener. Use half as much tea as you would with another black tea and that should be enough. Add some milk for a softer flavour or drink black for a potent punch.

Mount Everest turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Though listed as a white tea, it's a light blend of white, green and jasmine teas with pineapple, corn kernels and curry leaves in the mix. The result is a gentle fruity tea with a hint of floral overtones. No need for sweetener!

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Beer: Ginger Beer

No. Not that ginger beer. Ginger Beer from Mill Street Brewery.

We have to admit that we're a little puzzled by this one. We tried it over the summer as part of their sampler pack and enjoyed it, but when we picked up a growler (the best way to buy beer by the way!) it was...underwhelming.

It's a simple lager with the barest hint of ginger at the back. It's palatable enough, but with none of the character we usually associate with Mill Street brews.

Mill Street is a great local brewery with lots of excellent products, so we're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps today's pint came from a less-than-stellar batch, but we're not likely to try the Ginger Beer again.