Winter teas session
Innovation by Ivo Bierands
24/11/23
Overdosing hot pepper or hot paprika might upset your stomach. Also, I would not recommend you stir hot pepper or hot paprika before drinking as it might unpleasantly irritate your throat which might lead you to coughing.
I assume that spiced-up teas might be a good homemade remedy to treat cold.
Black tea with chilli garlic sauce
Recipe:
1 bag of black tea.
230ml hot water.
10g chilli garlic sauce.
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Very spiced with garlic flavour, throat-burning, leaving slightly salted aftertaste.
Smell: Garlic sauce.
Colour: Terracotta, orange, auburn, cloudy with red chilli and white garlic bits.
Additional notes: Regardless that it was very spiced tea and the taste was not exciting, I would not change anything in this recipe as I like this extreme spiciness. Though, if you think it is too spiced, I would like to recommend you start with 5g of chilli garlic sauce.
12/02/24
Black tea with chilli garlic sauce & pineapple juice
Recipe:
1 bag of black tea.
190ml hot water.
40ml pineapple juice.
10g chilli garlic sauce.
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Very spiced, throat burning with garlic and tender pineapple flavours. In the aftertaste throat burning is long lasting.
Smell: Tender pineapple and garlic.
Colour: Terracotta, orange, auburn, cloudy with red chilli and white garlic bits.
Additional notes: If you do not want the brew to be so spiced up and throat burning start by adding 5g of chilli garlic sauce.
I added pineapple juice to make the brew more enjoyable to drink, but it did not work out my way. However, it was not a bad taste. I started at the beginning with 30ml of pineapple juice, but could not detect its flavour and gradually increased its quantity to 40ml.
Interestingly that bitterness flavour was gone.
16/02/24
Black tea with grounded tarmac, hot paprika & parsley (fresh)
Recipe:
1 bag of black tea.
230ml hot boiling water.
1g of grounded tarmac.
1g of hot paprika
5g parsley
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: It is hot, throat burning, unpleasant grounded tarmac, tender parsley, awkward taste.
It does not taste awful, but unenjoyable.
Smell: Strong grounded tarmac
Colour: It has an amazing colour, bright brown, cloudy
Additional info: I would recommend not going over with 1g of hot paprika as it might be too much.
It would be advisable even reduce the dosage of ground tarmac and hot paprika
Assam tea has been used as an example of black tea. You can use any black tea for your brew.
As longer black tea bag will be infused in the water as stronger bitter flavour gets.
29/11/23
Black tea with hot paprika
Recipe:
1 bag of black tea.
230ml boiling water
1g of red paprika
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Burning hot, still enjoyed this different brew.
I suppose it could be a great remedy to treat cold.
Smell: It was impossible to detect smell
Colour: Cloudy, terracotta, Ruby. It had a lovely colour.
Additional info: I would recommend not going over with 1g of hot paprika as it might be too much.
Assam tea has been used as an example of black tea. You can use any black tea for your brew.
As longer black tea bag will be infused in the water as stronger bitter flavour gets.
26/11/23
Black tea hot paprika & sugar
Recipe:
1 bag of black tea bag
230ml boiling water.
1g of hot paprika
0.5 teaspoon of sugar
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Very spicy, sweet & bitter. It leaves with lightly burning throat
Smell: Black tea
Colour: Hazy, amber, terracotta.
Comments: I pretty much enjoyed this tea.
Additional info: Be careful when you exceed the portion of hot paprika as it can become not enjoyable.
Assam tea has been used as an example of black tea. You can use any black tea for your brew.
As longer black tea bag will be infused in the water as stronger bitter flavour gets.
24/11/23
Green tea with black pepper
Recipe:
2 bags of Knightsbridge green tea
230ml hot water
1g of black pepper
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Hot, mouth and throat burning. Still, it is possible to taste tender green tea in the aftertaste along with long-lasting burning in the throat.
Colour: Dark amber, cloudy, earthy.
Smell: Pleasant green tea.
Additional notes: I would not change anything in this recipe as I found the ingredients well-balanced. However, you might think differently.
Interesting observation - By drinking three caps of spicy tea, I found it warm. I felt nice and warm in a cool room. My facial cheeks were nicely warm.
14/12/23
Green tea with cayenne pepper
Recipe:
2 bags of Tesco green tea
230ml hot water.
1g of cayenne pepper.
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Burning hot, very spiced with unpleasant aftertaste. It seemed to me to have an iron flavour in the aftertaste.
Smell: Cayenne pepper with a soft green aroma.
Colour: Red, orange, terracotta.
Additional notes: It seemed that I drank spiced-up water, not green tea. I would reduce the quantity of cayenne pepper to balance its flavour.
It was my most unenjoyable brew from the winter tea session.
16/12/23
Green tea with hot paprika
Recipe:
2 bags of Knightsbridge green tea
230ml hot water
1g of hot paprika
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Sour with tender bitterness. It is gently burning the mouth.
Smell: Green tea with tender hot paprika.
Colour: Red, orange
Additional notes: If you want the brew to be more spiced up, add more hot paprika.
For me, it seemed interesting to taste sourness in this tea.
Regardless, it was spiced-up tea, it was pretty gentle.
Interesting observation - By drinking three caps of spicy tea, I found it warm. I felt nice and warm in a cool room. My facial cheeks were nicely warm.
14/12/23
Green tea with Lemon concentrate & white pepper
Recipe:
2 bags of Knightsbridge green tea
225ml hot water
5ml lemon concentrate
1g white pepper
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: It is very spiced with a tender citron flavour that heavily overlaps the green tea taste making it impossible to feel.
Smell: Dominant white pepper.
Colour: Greenish yellow, cloudy.
Additional notes: If you want to balance flavours and make it not such spiced, I would recommend reducing the portion of white pepper to 0.5g.
I enjoyed this level of spiciness.
16/12/23
Green tea with white pepper
Recipe:
2 bags of Knightsbridge green tea
230ml hot water
1g of white pepper
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: It burns the throat and mouth and it is not possible to taste green tea, because white pepper is heavily dominating the flavour.
Smell: Gentle white pepper.
Colour: Cloudy green.
Additional notes: It seems to me the brew had a perfect spiciness, however, if you want it to be hotter, add more white pepper.
I enjoyed this brew regardless so hot drink.
14/12/23
Red bush tea with freshly squeezed cloudy lemonade and white pepper
Recipe:
1 bag of redbush tea.
210ml of hot water.
20ml squeezed cloudy lemonade.
1g white pepper.
Brewer's advice: Brew the tea for 1 – 3 min for medium strength and 3 – 5 min or longer for a stronger brew.
Taste: Very chilly and throat-burning with hints of lemon.
Smell: White pepper (when stirring the brew).
Colour: Orange, terracotta, cloudy.
Additional notes: The flavour was very spiced and I could not detect a red bush taste. Regardless flavours were not balanced, I would not change anything in this recipe.
If you feel that this brew is too spiced for you start with 0.5g of white pepper.
Stir the brew before you drink it for a better quality of taste.
28/02/24