Bergamot

The herb bergamot, or Monarda, is used as a substitute for making herbal Earl Grey tea because early settlers once considered it to be similar in flavor to the original bergamot fruit. This has caused some confusion over the years but provided you like the flavor, that's all that really matters.

Earl Grey tea, believe it or not, is not its own category of tea. It falls into the category of flavored teas. Flavored teas include any type of tea—white, green, oolong, black—that has been scented or flavored with fruit, flowers, spices, oils, extracts, and natural or artificial flavors.

Earl Grey is one of the most recognized flavored teas in the world. This quintessentially British tea is typically a black tea base flavored with oil from the rind of bergamot orange, a citrus fruit with the appearance and flavor somewhere between an orange and a lemon with a little grapefruit and lime thrown in.

The bergamot herbs of the genus Monarda are persistent plants native to North America. Monarda didyma was used as a beverage by the Oswego tribe of American Indians and was one of the drinks adopted by American colonists during their boycott of British tea. The leaves are used to flavour punches, lemonade, and other cold drinks. M. citriodora (lemon bergamot, or lemon bee balm) and M. fistulosa (wild bergamot) are also used as flavourings and in teas.

 

Prepare Earl Grey Tea (Bergamot Herbs):

 

·        Place the handful of bergamot herb leaves and flowers into a teapot. If you want the flowers to be on show, use a glass teapot or glass jug able to handle heat.

·        Pour boiling water over the herbs. Pour enough for at least 2 cups of tea. Cover the herbs well.

·        Let steep for 5 minutes.

·        Serve immediately. It should still be hot.

·        Add sweetener if needed, such as a dash of honey or a tiny bit of sugar.

 

Prepare Earl Grey Tea (Bergamot Orange):

 

·        Locate some Bergamot oranges. These may be available at your local farmers market or a specialty grocery store.

·        Clean the Bergamot orange. Peel into several small strands. Dry the peel either by air drying or using heat. Air drying is simple: Arrange the peel on a tray lined with parchment paper. Leave in a warm spot. The peel should be dry within 12 to 24 hours.

·         Peel can be dried in a dehydrator.

·         Peel can be heated in a low temperature oven for 30 minutes to an hour or so.

·        Add the peel to a jar of loose black tea leaves. Leave for a few days to infuse. Tea readily absorbs flavors it is in touch with (hence the reason for storing it in separate, airtight containers).

·        Make tea as usual. The flavor of the peel should come through into the tea.

Keep experimenting. It is recommended that you keep trying different amounts of peel to see how much produces the flavor that you find the most pleasing.

Jemma Catt.

Camellia Sinensis

Camellia Sinensis is one of the primary plants that we get  tea from.

There are a few variations of tea plants but Camellia Sinensis is the type that will grow to 6 feet tall, while other variations can grow in excess of 10 feet or more in the form of a tree.

 Camellia Sinensis ranges from shrub to bush and has fragrant white flowers with yellow centers. Camellia Sinensis likes full sun and moisture so you shouldn’t dry the soil out. It’s takes a long time to grow and it also has a dormant period in the Winter. When Spring comes around it will start to bud and grow new leaves at the top of the branches. These new growths are what we use to make tea. 

Camellia Sinensis will grow fruit containing seeds, if planted they will grow. If you plan on harvesting tea from plants grown from seed it can take 3 years or more to grow a plant big enough to harvest from.

 

Prepare Green Tea from Camellia Sinensis:

• Pluck the newly grown young leaves and leaf buds in early Spring.
• Preheat your oven to 250°F.
• Dry the leaves with a napkin or clothe and let the leaves dry in the shade for about 3 or 4 hours in the heat of the day.
• Dice the leaves with a kitchen knife so they look more like your used to seeing prepared tea leaves.
• Steam the leaves for about a minute, or for a different flavor roast them in a skillet for 2 minutes instead.
• Spread the leaves out on a pan and dry in the oven at 250°F for 20 minutes.
• Either store the leaves for later, or make a cup and taste test it!

 

Prepare Oolong Tea from Camellia Sinensis:

• Pluck the newly grown young leaves and leaf buds in early Spring.
• Spread them out on a towel in the heat of the sun and let them dry  for about 45 minutes.
• Bring your leaves inside and let them sit at room temperature for about 4 hours, mixing the leaves around every hour.
• Preheat your oven to 250°F.
• The edges of the leaves will start to turn red as they begin to dry.
• Spread the leaves on a baking pan and dry in the oven at 250F for 20 minutes.
• Either store the leaves for later, or make a cup and taste test it!

 

 

Prepare Black Tea from Camellia Sinensis:

• Pluck the very youngest leaves and leaf buds.
• Roll the leaves between your hands or with a rolling pin and crush them until the leaves start to darken and turn red.
• Spread them out on a tray, and leave them in a cool location for 2-3 days.
• Spread the leaves on a baking pan and dry in the oven at 250F for 20 minutes.
• Either store the leaves for later, or make a cup and taste test it!

  
 

Prepare your own Tea from Camellia Sinensis:

• Also start with the very youngest leaves, leaf buds and stems.
• (Some teas are made of mostly the steam from the plant!)
• Cut your tea into small pieces, kind of dice it.
• Experiment with drying, crushing, roasting, fermenting and flavoring your tea.
• (Mix other flowers for unique flavors: Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Fruit flowers, Lemon Balm flowers, Rose flowers, Rose hips, Chamomile, etc)
• Make sure your tea is dry before storing in an air tight container or you may get mold.

 

 

Jemma Catt.