TEA SPARROW

Tea Sparrow was born of our family's love for tea. Tasting it, smelling it, sharing it...Yum! We have quested and befriended tea sommeliers, blenders and farmers in the pursuit of truly great tea experiences. With no affiliation to blenders, we have tasted hundreds of teas, chosen the blends that inspire us, and shared them with you.

[tea-sparrow]

Cacao Tea: why we love it

Forget hot chocolate. Organic Cacao Tea is the new cool kid on the block.

Heard of Cacao Tea yet? Tea and chocolate lovers alike everywhere are falling in love with this antioxidant-rich drink that’s conveniently caffeine and calorie free. Sound too good to be true? Read on, chocoholics! Cacao Tea is made from the husks of the cacao bean. That’s all! It’s completely natural and basically a by-product of chocolate making. When the beans are harvested, the chocolate makers roast them and then crack the shell from the nib inside. The nibs go on to make our beloved chocolate, and the shells are left behind. Brew those in hot water and voilà! Cacao Tea. Brewing Cacao Tea has a long history in South America where it grows, but its availability to us North Americans is a recent (exciting!) change due to the challenge of sourcing high-quality, organic and fair trade cacao husks for the tea. Non-organic cacao has been treated heavily with toxic pesticides and fumigation chemicals and Oxfam estimates that over 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown by indigenous communities who are paid such a low wage that poverty is widespread. Luckily, Tea Sparrow sources only 100% organic fair trade Tisano cacao tea. You may have heard that Cacao Tea also has some hidden health benefits on top of being a delicious, sugar-free alternative to chocolate. It’s true! Cacao is one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium and cacao husks boast many of the same health benefits as the cacao bean itself, making the tea rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It contains copper, vitamin D, phosphorus, zinc, iron and tons of magnesium. The caffeine is swapped out for theobromine for a natural, slow release stimulant kick. Cacao is also a great source of four scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylethylamine. These neurotransmitters are associated with cosy feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and can even alleviate depression. By now, if you have not yet tried this tea, you may be wondering how the taste compares to a good old cup of hot cocoa. The answer is yes: it is rich and satisfyingly chocolatey. You can customize it to your chocolate preferences. Some of us who prefer our chocolate dark love it as is, while others prefer it with a bit of honey and milk. You choose! So go on, chocolate lovers! Indulge your sweet tooth without the sugar. You can find our organic, Fair Trade Cacao Tea in tea bags or loose leaf.

https://begoodorganics.com/cacao-5-little-known-benefits-of-this-amazonian-superfood/

https://kitchen.nine.com.au/2016/09/07/07/20/cacao-tea-made-from-chocolate

[tea-sparrow]

Enchanted Forest morning smoothie pick-you-up

Were you just wondering how you could liven up your morning smoothie AND harness the power and nutrition of this month’s green tea?

We thought so!

It’s so easy:

1. The night before, cold brew your Enchanted Forest tea by placing 1 tbs in a 500mL (pint) mason jar, add cold water and a lid, shake and refrigerate until morning.

2. Wake up.

3. Make your morning smoothie as you normally would. We personally love:

pineapple

cherries

kale

lime

ginger

blueberries

...but it’s your smoothie, so let loose!

4. Put a tea strainer above your smoothie glass and pour the tea through, straining out the leaves to add the tea to your smoothie to your taste. We love a 1:1 ratio of smoothie to tea.

5. Throw a tablespoon of hemp seeds on top if you are feeling adventurous!

5. Drink your tea-spiked smoothie and rock your day!

[tea-sparrow]

Rooibos Chai Milk Tea

It’s time to get our fall on, tea drinkers. The leaves are crunching under our feet, the days are getting cooler, crisper and shorter. The perfect reason to drink tea!

This is a family recipe for milk tea, adapted here for this month’s Organic Rooibos Chai.

in a medium saucepan, over high heat bring to a boil:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer the milk/water mixture. Add:

1 tbs Organic Rooibos Chai

Simmer this for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, strain into a tea pot, add 1 tsp sweetener and enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Bubbly Summer Merlot

What better invitation for a summer cocktail than this month’s green tea? Grapes, apples and marigold flowers + crisp green tea = your latest excuse to do nothing. Here’s how it’s done.

1. Cold brew your tea! We hope by now you’re familiar with this wonderful process, but in case not: place 2 tbs loose-leaf tea in a 1-litre jar, fill with cold water, cover with a lid, shake and place in the fridge for a few hours, or until you remember you put it there. Setting a timer is work and the antithesis to cold-brewing.

2a. Non-alcoholic option: simply strain the leaves out of your tea and mix 1 tbs simple syrup, 1/2 cup cold-brewed tea and 1 cup soda water. Add a slice of lime, pour over ice and enjoy!

2b. Alcoholic option: Strain the leaves out of your tea. Mix 12 oz cold-brewed tea with 1/4-1/2 cup Prosecco (or bubbly of your choice) to taste, 1 oz gin and 1 tbs simple syrup. Add a slice of lime, pour over ice and enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Blueberry Rooibos Sangria

Did someone say summer cocktails? We have been having so much fun experimenting with iced tea! This recipe is just our spin on this summer drink but feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes!

1. Cold brew 1 litre of Blueberry Rooibos tea (2 tbs + 1 L of water in a mason jar, cover, shake and place in your fridge for a couple hours before straining).

2. Muddle some fresh mint with 1/4 cup simple syrup at the bottom of a pitcher. (Boil equal parts water and white sugar until sugar dissolves, set aside to cool. Simple syrup will keep in a jar in your fridge until your next cocktail.)

3. Add whatever fruit you’d like to use (cut up oranges, berries, pineapple, etc).

4. Add tea, a bottle of wine, up to 2L of carbonated water (optional) and 1/4 cup of brandy (also optional).

Stir and enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Pear Green Tea Sangria

It’s spring! Well…practically…depending on where you live. We decided that this weather and this month’s green tea were the perfect reasons to make tea sangria.

We used this recipe from Minimalist Baker and swapped out half the wine for cold-brewed Organic Pear Green tea and it was delicious! Feel free to play with the ingredients or use your own sangria recipe, and let us know how it turns out!

Ingredients

½ pear, cored, skin on, chopped into small pieces

½ orange, rind on, sliced into small pieces, large seeds removed (plus more for garnish)

3-4 Tbsp brown sugar

¾ cup orange juice, plus more to taste

1/3 cup brandy, plus more to taste

1 ½ cups dry Spanish red wine

1 ½ cups cold-brewed Organic Pear Tea

Ice to chill (~1 cup)

Instructions

Add pears, oranges and sugar to a large pitcher and muddle with a muddler or wooden spoon for 45 seconds.

Add orange juice and brandy and muddle again to combine for 30 seconds.

Add red wine, cold-brewed tea and stir to incorporate, then taste and adjust flavour as needed. Feel free to add a bit more brandy, orange juice and brown sugar. Stir to combine.

Add ice and stir once more to chill. Serve as is, or with a bit more ice. Garnish with pears if that’s your thing.

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours, although it’s great when fresh, and even better enjoyed in the sun with your feet up.

[tea-sparrow]

Chamomile Hot Toddy

‘Tis the season! We’ve already had several colds pass through our home...don’t let this happen to you. Make this, alcoholic or non, and enjoy good health all season long. 

Serves 2.

Fill a small saucepan with 3 cups of water, 2 tbs loose-leaf Organic Chamomile and about a thumb of ginger, sliced. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain into 2 mugs and add honey and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to taste. If making it alcoholic: add 1 oz whisky per mug.

Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Juniper Rooibos Peach Punch

Juniper Rooibos Peach Punch! Because...why not?

It’s fall, it’s raining, it’s cold. We have tea. Try to make this hot and let us know...we have a sneaking suspicion it might be lovely.

Brew or cold-brew 2 cups of this month’s Juniper Rooibos and pour into a large jug or jar. Add 2 cups peach juice (the real stuff), a slice lemon, a handful of fresh mint leaves, and 2 peaches thinly sliced. If you want to make it alcoholic, you can add up to 1/3 cup of vodka. Drink it hot or iced! Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Pomegranate Crisp Rosh Hashana Punch

Happy Jewish New year, tea drinkers! We dreamed up this punch to have at our Rosh Hashana dinner next Sunday night, because pomegranates are awesome but also hard to find, messy and not easy to seed!

Although completely worth all the challenge. Don’t ditch the real pomegranates. Just supplement, people.

Step 1: Cold brew 1 litre (or 1 quart for our American friends) of Pomegranate Crisp. Savour the deliciousness, but only a little. Your guests deserve this too.

Step 2: Sweeten with honey-water (add a bit of boiling water to 2 tbs honey for every litre) and stir. Add 1 cup of apple juice, or adjust to your liking.

Pour it on ice, garnish with some sliced apples or pomegranate seeds and enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

It’s-still-summer Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

We technically have until September 21, even if you too have turned on your heat and taken those jackets off their hangers...possibly with some sadness.

But don’t be sad! Fall is more than just pumpkin spice lattes. And this sorbet is all about reclaiming these last 2 weeks of ‘summer.’

Ingredients

3 cups water

3 tbs loose-leaf Pink Grapefruit tea

3/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add your tea leaves and remove pan from heat. Cover pan and steep tea 5 minutes. Strain tea through a fine sieve into a bowl, then add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Chill tea, covered, until cold and freeze in an ice-cream maker. Enjoy!                        

[tea-sparrow]

Sencha Sour

This cocktail is so much fun! We threw together some fun Japanese ingredients to bring out the flavours in the five different teas blended into Tea Desire’s Japanese Treasures, featured in August’s tea box, blended right into the gin! (Use the cold-brewed tea instead of gin-infused tea ) to keep this alcohol-free.)

Inspired by Saveur. 

For the Sencha-Infused Gin                 

1 cup gin

1/4 cup Japanese Treasures        

For the Cocktail

1 1/2 oz infused gin (or cold-brewed Japanese Treasures) 1/2 oz. pickled ginger syrup 1/2 oz. sake 1/2 oz. yuzu juice or lemon juice soda water, to serve fresh grapes, halved, for garnish

Instructions

For the infused gin: Place loose-leaf tea in gin, let sit 6-8 hours. Strain out tea using a fine-mesh sieve and discard.

For the cocktail: Combine gin (or cold-brew tea), syrup, sake and juice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into a glass filled with crushed ice that inspires excitement about life, cooler evenings and sunny days. Top with club soda, garnish with grapes and enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Southern Peach Ice Cream with Bourbon-Peach Swirl

It’s August. We’re in the middle of a heat wave here in Toronto (which really could be the south, for all intents and purposes) and eating ice cream at the water park every day. So when I stumbled upon this recipe, I couldn’t resist! This is not for the faint of heart. Here it is people. 

Adapted from 10th Kitchen

For sweet tea ice cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups  whole milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

6 tbs Silver Service Peach Passion tea

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

For bourbon-peach swirl

1 cup peaches, blanched, peeled, pitted and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon bourbon

Instructions

To make the ice cream, heat the cream, milk and corn syrup in a large saucepan until just simmering. Add loose-leaf tea, lower heat to low and simmer, keeping a close watch so it doesn't boil over, for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for 2 hours.

Strain the mixture through a very fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth and try to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness out!

Whisk together sugar and cornstarch until combined, then whisk into the tea-infused cream mixture.  Reheat and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds (mixture will be thick and bubbly).

Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, then cover tightly and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least a few hours but preferably overnight. (Take our advice here.)

To make the peach-bourbon swirl, toss together the peaches with cornstarch and sugar and cook in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the peaches have broken down and the mixture is bubbly, thick and delicious, 5 minutes or so.  Cool mixture, stir in the bourbon, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Once both the cream mixture and peach mixture are chilled, process the cream mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.  Purée the peach mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth, then drop spoonfuls of both mixtures into a resealable container, alternating between them.  Run a butter knife through to create a swirl effect, then freeze until firm.  Makes about a quart. Which should last you about a day.

[tea-sparrow]

Golden State Kiddie Pool Accompaniment

We are visiting family in Toronto this month and the heat is unreal! Let's just say there has been a lot of watermelon and cold drinks consumed while we soak our feet in the kiddie pool. I'm not even joking.

This month's green tea, citrusy and the slightest bit sweet from the strawberries, got me wondering what it would be like with a bit of gin...and some citrus zest to complement the lemongrass in the tea.

You don't need to be living in a heat wave to enjoy it. In fact, if you want to infuse soda water (instead of gin) and make this non-alcoholic, I think that would be fabulous too! And still totally suitable to drink kiddie-poolside.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dry gin, at room temperature

2 tbs Golden State Green Tea

3/4 cups freshly squeezed lime juice

4-6 tablespoons citrus syrup (lemon version) to taste

6 lime wedges as garnish

For the citrus syrup:

2 cups Sugar

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon grated lemon or orange zest

Make the citrus syrup

Stir the ingredients together in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Lower the heat to low & continue cooking until you get a syrupy consistency, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat & let stand for 30 minutes. Strain though a wire-mesh sieve double lined with damp cheesecloth. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one month. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Make the Base

Pour the gin into a 3 cup or larger pitcher. Add the loose leaf tea & let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, strain out the tea and add the lime juice & citrus syrup. Stir until well combined.

Make the Cocktails

For each cocktail, add about 3 1/4 ounces of the base to a cocktail shaker that is 2/3 filled with ice. Cover and shake vigorously; strain into an ice filled glass.Squeeze a lime wedge over the drink & drop it in. Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Orange Rooibos syrup

My mouth is dreaming of this with french toast. But then I’ve just been craving french toast, so there’s that.

How about some syrup with fizzy water and ice for an Italian soda?

Or perhaps some other nationally named dish or drink of choice.

In any case, here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

1 cup Organic Rooibos Orange tea

2 tbs honey

2 tbs sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Brew your tea, then place the first 4 ingredients into a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer until it thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and salt. Place in a jar or use immediately on anything you deem appropriate. Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Strawberry Fields Summer Slush

Happy summer tea drinkers! Enjoy this fruity, refreshing drink with or without the gin to celebrate this amazing weather.

Ingredients

6 parts cold-brewed Strawberry Fields tea

1 part gin

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup frozen strawberries

7 ice cubes

Place all ingredients into your blender and blend away to your desired consistency. For fun, place some salt on your cup rim, pour and add a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Nandi Hills black tea

We hope you are enjoying this new tea from Justea, picked in Nandi Hills, Kenya! Here’s some fun facts about this tea.

Brewing Suggestions: • Water: 205°F (this is very important!) • Tea: 1 heaping tbs per 8 oz of water. • Infusion: 3 Minutes. Steeps 2 infusions (2nd infusion may require longer steep time and slightly warmer water).

Cultivation:

This tea is grown by Jacob (father) & Boaz Katah (son) in Nandi Hills, 6,700 ft above sea level. It is the highest elevation of tea gardens in Africa! The tea leaves are carefully hand-plucked, 2 leaves and a bud. No pesticides are ever used on any of Justea’s teas. Not all farmers use fertilizer, but if they do, they only use fertilizers for the soil twice a year. It is the common tea fertilizer NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium). Although this is just a small application of fertilizer (especially in comparison to tea grown in India and China), they have been working with the farmers to move to fully organic, but it is a 3 year process for organic certification. Tasting Notes: This black tea is very unique for the Kenyan market. Unlike traditional Kenyan black teas, this tea lacks any bitterness and should be enjoyed without milk and sugar (although Michael still takes milk and honey with his). It is full bodied and contains notes of grilled zucchini and walnuts! An excellent sipper with low tannins and a silky finish.

Justea’s Kenyan Tea Story: All of Justea’s artisanal Kenyan teas (Purple, Green, Oolong, Nandi Hills Black) are: • Farmer Family Direct and ethical trade, full transparency from garden to cup • Very unique and rare to the Kenya/World market • Not available from any other factory or garden in Kenya • Superior Whole Leaf Grade, unlike 99% of Kenyan teas which are CTC • Hand Plucked from highest elevation tea gardens • Small Batch processed

Enjoy!

[tea-sparrow]

Maracuja Orange Tea Pops

Tea pops are the perfect summer treat!

Where it’s hot, they keep you cool.

Where it’s not (ie, Vancouver), they keep you happy.

Basically, it’s always a good time for a tea pop.

Here’s how to make them:

Simply cold brew a jar of Maracuja Orange for 6 hours or more in your fridge. (Place 2 heaping tbs of loose-leaf tea into the jar, fill with cold water, shake, cover and place in your fridge. Give it a little shake every hour or so.) Once it’s finished brewing, shake it and pour through a strainer into another jar. Add 2 tbs simple syrup, shake and pour into your favourite popsicle molds. Place into the freezer and wait patiently.

Enjoy!