Recipes with Tea | Two Leaves Tea Company Blog - Part 7Two Leaves and a Bud Blog

Going green (with noodles)
By naomi / in Green Tea, Recipes with Tea / February 29, 2012
A nice little lunch made with Tamayokucha: Green Tea Noodles with Edamame

Recently our tea-related recipes have had me exploring the world of cupcakes and cocktails, and that's been fantastic. But this month it's time to turn back to savory delights, and so I dug up this recipe for Green Tea Noodles with Edamame. In it, soba noodles are actually cooked in green tea to give them a slightly astringent flavor that pairs well with a tangy ginger dressing. I used our Organic Tamayokucha, of course, but I'd be interested in knowing how this recipe would turn out if you used sachets of Organic Gen Mai Cha, imparting more of a toasted-rice flavor. It's something I'll probably try in the future, since this recipe was so easy.

In essence, it's an Asian pasta salad, and it while this recipe allegedly serves two, I'd recommend you grill some chicken breast to have on the side, and perhaps start with light miso soup.

Green Tea Noodles with Edamame

Ingredients:
- 2 cups brewed green tea
- 3 ounces soba noodles
- 1/2 cup shelled and cooked edamame (soy beans)
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions
- sesame seeds for garnish
Ginger dressing ingredients:
- 1 tbsp grated ginger root
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1tbsp mirin (seasoned rice wine)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- Dash of pepper
Instructions:
1. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended.
2. Bring the green tea to boil in a small saucepot (don't do this with the tea in the pot, or you'll essentially "stew" the green tea and change its flavor - not in a good way). Add the soba noodles and cook 3-4 minutes or according to package directions. Drain. You could rinse with cold water (or cold green tea) if you want to eat the noodles cold.
3. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the ginger dressing. Add the edamame and scallions.
4. Divide between two bowls and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Chai Cupcakes: sugar, spice and everything nice
By naomi / in Baking with Tea, Organic Black Tea, Recipes with Tea / February 2, 2012
Just try not to lick your computer screen.

If steeping a cup of our Mountain High Chai and then adding in a bit of warm milk and some kind of sweetener is your idea of a delightfully comforting drink, we've got the treat for you.

These Chai Latte Cupcakes are like a twist on a traditional spice cake, using spices that are decidedly Indian in flavor. And how handy that you can just steep some sachets of our Mountain High Chai to get all of those spices in one shot — cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. This recipe includes adding extra spices to make sure each cupcake is as spicy as possible. And don't forget, of course, that when you steep this sachet you're also adding the signature tannic nature of black tea, which forms the basis for the tea blend itself! (In fact, if you pair these cupcakes with any drink, it might be a glass of milk, since we don't want their delicious spiciness to overpower a great cuppa' tea.)

Chai Latte Cupcakes

Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 4 sachets Organic Mountain High Chai
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- Vanilla frosting of your choosing
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (174 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper baking cups
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and add the four tea sachets. Cover and let stand until the milk is cool. Squeeze the sachets into the milk and then discard them.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tea-flavored milk, yogurt, sugar, oil and vanilla.
4. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, diving evenly.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the pan set over a wire rack. When cooled arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter and frost with desired frosting. Our pick is vanilla frosting, because it's a lot like adding a good vanilla sugar to your chai latte!
7. Enjoy! (And please tell us when you do — we wanna hear about it!)
P.S.: Makes 12 cupcakes. Enough to share!
Toasting the new year with two leaves
By naomi / in Recipes with Tea, Tea Beverages, Tea Cocktails / January 9, 2012
A tea cocktail for 2012 made with our own Organic Tamayokucha

When Marketing Coordinator Christy Garfield and I decided that this month's tea recipe should be a cocktail, I set a couple of ground rules. First, it had to be simple enough for anyone to follow without a degree in mixology, and second, it couldn't include any ingredients you'd have to spend a lot of money on (and possibly not use very often in the future). While I love going out for a great drink, and I'm quite interested in the resurgence of cocktail culture sweeping our country, I don't need a bottle of Angostura Bitters crowding my tiny little liquor cabinet above the refrigerator.

So, I found a recipe for a great cocktail made with tea (Organic Tamayokucha was my choice) that includes really easy-to-obtain ingredients like mint, lime and vodka, and that you can whip up in a flash for visitors. It's a refreshing, festive drink, and anyone abstaining from alcohol could quite easily follow the first step to make some Moroccan mint tea, and then shake it up with ice and garnish it for a great mocktail.

Quite frankly, I'm leaving some of the specifics of this cocktail a bit loosey-goosey, because you'll probably want to tweak how strong you want the tea, how sweet you want it, and how much alcohol you want to put in it. Make it your own, people!

Minted Green Tea Cocktail

Ingredients:
- Sachets of Organic Tamayokucha
- Mint sprigs
- Plenty of sugar
- Vodka
- Lime
- Ice
Directions:
1. Make a sweet Moroccan mint tea by steeping the sachets of Organic Tamayokucha in water that's almost boiling. (Don't use water that's too hot or you'll "cook" the delicate green tea and it'll be bitter.) Steep the tea along with plenty of mint, putting the whole sprigs in, and a good amount of sugar. Moroccan mint tea really is sweet stuff -- it's delightful.
2. While steeping the tea, cut up a lime and run it around the rim of your chosen glassware, and then dip the edge of the glass into sugar.
3. Grab your cocktail shaker and throw a handful of ice in there, and then add some mint leaves. Give it a good shake to really bruise those leaves and release some flavor.
4. Once the steeped tea has had a chance to cool a bit (maybe with a stint in the freezer), remove the sachets and the mint sprigs and pour the tea into the cocktail shaker. Put in a healthy squeeze of lime to brighten it up. Add a shot or two of vodka and then shake it like you mean it, baby.
5. Strain this wonderful concoction into your prepared glass. To really wow your friends, we recommend further garnishing the glass with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.
Cheers! Chime in: Do you have some good tea cocktails we need to try? Twist our arm and we just might do it ...
Healthy Jun Tea
By Jen / in Green Tea, Healthy, Recipes with Tea, Tea Beverages, Wellness Tea / August 8, 2011

As a die-hard nutritional health and environmental aficionado, I research and try most everything I hear of being healthy and environmentally friendly. I like to find the “why” behind the health claims. Is the product actually good for me and eco-friendly or just great marketing? I then see if the product or idea works for my life. When you find a product or idea that lines up with everything, it is like hitting the jackpot. For me these finds have included pilates, my garden, making my own dog food out of scraps, community supported agriculture (CSA), solar power and most recently Jun tea!

A Week's Jun Yield!

Jun is essentially improved Kombucha. Kombucha utilizes a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), black tea and sugar to produce a tea-based, strong beverage raved about for its unproven, but centuries-old claims of detoxifying and energizing effects.

Jun is the same idea with the same use of a SCOBY, but with green tea (in lieu of black tea) and honey as the sugar source.

A few months ago my friend Alyson brought me a SCOBY culture (go to www.iloveyouproject.net to learn more about awesome Alyson’s latest win-win project!). It has grown, thrived, produced its own SCOBY baby (often called a “mother”) and a weekly supply of the delicious and refreshing Jun. Think of a sparkling, light apple cider vinegar-ish drink that makes you pucker and honestly “feels” alive! That alone probably isn’t selling you on this.

Although information online is scarce, there are a few YouTube videos that give some additional information.

Here are some additional facts:
-   No waste is produced. I compost the used two leaves and a bud green tea leaves (typically jasmine or organic orange sencha).
-   The honey is local and the jar is refilled when empty.
-   I am utilizing old Kombucha containers and a sweet old vodka bottle to store and enjoy the Jun.
-   Enjoy health advantages of eating fermented foods. (www.wildfermentation.com)
-   The Jun contains a multitude of live enzymes and acids and loads of B vitamins essential to healthy and energy.
-   The cost of this beverage is minimal on my pocketbook and on the earth, no liquids shipped around or waste!
-   Jun is said to be very detoxifying, I have read to start drinking it slowly to take it easy on your liver!
-   A small amount (1%) of alcohol may be produced in the fermentation process. Not enough to taste or have much of an effect.

Two Leaves Loose Tea Steeping in a Pan

How I make the Jun:
1.   Start with a SCOBY either getting one from someone already making Jun or Kombucha or google how to start a Kombucha scoby!
2.   Every 10 days I taste the Jun, if it is great I bottle what is in the container. If it isn’t yet great, wait another day or two and try again!
3.   Remove the SCOBY mother.
4.   Pour the contents into jars.
5.   Prepare new organic green tea, this batch is using Two Leaves and a Bud jasmine, nice light and
floral. I make about 1.5 gallons in a large pan with 8 teaspoons of loose tea leaves. More or less tea can be used based on your preference. You can also use various flavored green teas.
6.   Add honey to the tea, about ½ cup is my preference. This will provide the sugar for the fermentation
7.   Let this mixture cool. Hot water can harm a healthy SCOBY! Mine is still thin in a spot where tea that was too hot was poured.
8.   Add cooled tea to the container and replace the SCOBY. Store this in a dark, dry place with cheese cloth over it to allow breathing but nothing else in!
9.   Repeat the process. Enjoy your Jun throughout the week while your new batch is fermenting!

Fermenting your own delicious Jun tea may not be for everyone, but for me this is one of those rare jackpot finds that combines a healthy product with a truly environmentally-friendly one. And if you're looking for that detoxifying effect with less effort, try our Organic Detox tea.

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Going green (with noodles)

Chai Cupcakes: sugar, spice and everything nice

Chai Latte Cupcakes

Toasting the new year with two leaves

Healthy Jun Tea