Turkish Tea in the Americas

I am slowly getting back to my tea roots. The Chocolate Shop has absorbed so much of my time over the last 5 years, but it’s time. At 9 Lives Tea House, we have just launched our own packaging and product line. My passion is whole leaf, loose leaf teas, but I am also about to jump back into my holistic living roots and return to school to pursue my Clinical/Medical Ayurveda Specialist training and certification. More on that later….

I have been experimenting on a few new herbal tea blends. One is a Turkish Tea Blend. As a black tea base, it has a classic black tea flavor – a slight to medium astringency. We have added an organic cinnamon, and to our blend, I have elected to add a top grade Saffron. And that kicked the flavor up a notch.

The aroma of the brewed tea has qualities of cinnamon, a slight citrus, and floral notes. Turkish Tea generally is not consumed with the addition of milk or cream, but sugar is added. I don’t usually add sugar to my tea but have just found a new company that has marvelous, crafted sugar cubes, so I experimented with their Rose Cardamom Sugar Cubes.

I tried 1, then 2, then 3 cubes for comparison. One cube was good, the second cube was delightful. It was just enough to add a touch of sweetness, and tone down any astringency from the black tea. The rose in the cubes did add a rose flavoring to the tea, but not overwhelming.

From an herbal blend point of view – I have elected to add saffron to my blend for it’s healthful benefits. Some benefits found in herbal studies lists 5 shown benefits: antidepressant, heart health, PMS treatment, memory boost, and cancer prevention qualities, and stomach issues.

Cinnamon adds benefits for: Digestion, anti-inflammatory/antioxidant, heart, cognitive, and diabetes benefits. These are just a few listed in my research.

This is my first experiment with these herbs but I will be producing many small batch, herbal blended teas to offer for sale in the shop in Murfreesboro, TN and online at our e-commerce store 9livestea.com

Check back in to follow me on my herbal tea and Ayurveda adventure!

Judith Ames / Do the Brew and Tip Those Tea Cups!