Love Tea

Molly53's Note:

A heart-warming, flavorful beverage from Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert as published in our local newspaper.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemongrass , chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried lemon grass)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , peeled and roughly chopped (or 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger)
• 1 cinnamon stick , broken in half
• 5 cardamom pods , cracked
• 1 teaspoon anise seed
• 2 cloves
• 1 tablespoon dried peppermint
• 1 teaspoon earl grey tea (or one teabag if you can't find loose tea)
• 1 teaspoon green tea (or one teabag if you can't find loose tea)
• 3 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons rose water
• 4 teaspoons orange blossom water

Directions:

1. Bring 4 1/2 cups of water to boil in a saucepan.
2. Turn off heat and add the first six ingredients.
3. Mix lightly, cover and let mixture steep for five minutes.
4. Add peppermint, Earl Grey and green tea.
5. Allow to steep another five minutes.
6. Pour into each mug or cup 3/4 teaspoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of rosewater and 1 teaspoon of orange-blossom water.
7. Strain tea and pour into each mug and stir.
8. Serve hot.

Reviews

[Lumberjackie]

This is delicious! I was nervous that the rose and orange blossom waters would be overpowering, but the flavours were quite well balanced. By the time I got to the bottom of the cup, I did find the flower waters to be a little potent for my tastes, and I'll probably halve them next time. While I generally don't sweeten my tea, the honey was really wonderful here. I used dried lemongrass, dehydrated ginger slices, and 3 bags of mint tea, while otherwise following the recipe as directed.

[Jess4Freedom]

This is a great fresh tea. I did leave out the anise seed and only used 4 cardamom pods, as 5 seemed too much for such a small serving. I loved the rose water in here. I think that is where the Love tea comes in. The smell of this potion was divine! Made and reviewed for the recipe of the day in the Comfort Cafe - Thanks! :)

[Rita~]

Oh! Yes Love Tea. I enjoyed this lightly sweetened and lightly flavored tea. There are lots of flavors but made subtle with little steeping time. I used fresh mint and garnished with fresh lemongrass. Made for comfort cafe. Thanks for the comort.