By Golly, Ollie!

💾 a blog about books, tea, & geekery

Tag: black tea

Posts about black tea, a very oxidized and processed type of tea. This is my favorite kind of tea <3

  • Tardis Tea Pot de Creme without Fish Fingers

    Tardis Tea Pot de Creme without Fish Fingers

    I do not do a lot of cooking. My foray into savory dishes involves boiled pasta, canned sauces, and a side of microwavable vegetables. I don’t even bother with meat because it ends up either dry and crumbly or oddly, still raw. But as it turns out, I’m not too shabby at baking. But, even my baking skills stop at cookies. Albiet very, very delicious cookies. This Thanksgiving, I was a little daring in the kitchen, which is how I concocted the Earl Grey Pot de Creme with a Honey Lace Cookie pictured above. Doesn’t it look fancy?

    I can’t take the credit for this one because I am not a foodie, and I am not a cook. I followed this Martha Stewart recipe. I did make one alteration to the recipe, which is the choice of tea.

    Tardis Tea by Aun-Juli Riddle and Adagio Teas
    Tardis Tea by Aun-Juli Riddle and Adagio Teas

    Tardis Tea, which you can purchase at Adagio Teas, lends itself to a wonderful and unique cup of Earl Grey tea. The caramel and vanilla creme (not mentioned in the picture) balances out the boldness of the black tea and extra kick of bergamot oil. One word of advice, only brew this one for three or four minutes max; anything longer and you run the risk of sipping on a bitter cup of tea.

    But, back to the pot de creme because I still can’t stop thinking about it.

    I was nervous about making it because 1. it was my Thanksgiving dessert and 2. I’ve never baked anything like it. However, the recipe was simple and surprisingly easy to execute. The outcome was divine.

    I’ve never had “pot de creme”, so I’m not sure if my dessert turned out correctly. I was expecting a custard, something with the consistency of creme brule. That’s not was turned out, and I’m not complaining. The texture was a hybrid– rich and jiggly, like custard but also fluffy and airy, like mousse. The recipe mentions this dessert is “subtly infused”, which may have been the case if I just used straight, Earl Grey tea. Tardis Tea is a very flavorful tea however. The tea flavor would have been very prominent if it weren’t for the caramel and vanilla undertones. The steeping method may have also played a part; instead of steeping in water (which would be absurd), the leaves steeped in a bath of whole milk and heavy cream. The end result was unmistakably tea, but the creaminess mellowed the flavor. (WordPress is telling me I spelled “creaminess” incorrectly and is suggesting the word “dreaminess” instead, which is kind of the same thing in this case).

    The honey lace cookie was an afterthought. I wasn’t going to make them until I realized the recipe called for 4 ingredients and took less than 10 minutes to make, baking included. The honey lace cookie makes me think of the burnt sugar atop of creme brule, with a hint of honey. They were delicious, their crunch added a bit of excitement to the dessert, and they look fancy.

    Baking a custard sounds challenging, but I assure you this recipe is simple. It’s also inexpensive to make since people will have most, if not all, of the ingredients in their cupboards and fridge. And the outcome is absolutely rewarding. Trust me when I say, this dessert needs to be in your life.

  • Teaview: This Tea Actually Made Me Wish for Snow

    Teaview: This Tea Actually Made Me Wish for Snow

    I received a bunch of different types of tea for Christmas, yet the lonely, sample tea bag of Adagio’s Chestnut Tea was the one that piqued my interest the most. I should preface this by saying I’ve never had a chestnut, so I can’t say “OMG, this totally tastes like chestnuts” or “Wow, Adagio. This tastes nothing like chestnuts”. I also have to say that I was hesitant to try this simply because it said “chestnut” on the front. I typically don’t enjoy nuts (unless it’s a pistachio). And, chestnuts especially seemed to be about as appealing as a store-bought fruitcake at Christmas. But, I was pleasantly surprised by this tea.

    The ingredients are simple: black tea, sunflower petals, and natural chestnut flavor.

    One of my favorite things to do before trying out new tea is to breathe in the aroma of the tea. It kind of gives me an idea of what I’m getting in to. When I opened the package, I didn’t even have to bring the leaves to my nose to get a good whiff. The aroma was strong, but not in an unappealing way. It was like walking into a kitchen when someone is baking cookies.

    I was surprised how little of the black tea I could smell though. All I could notice was the chestnut flavoring. This tea had the most buttery and sugary and nutty aroma. These were the things that popped into my head: burnt sugar. Creme Brule. Multi-grain pancakes from Anna’s, a local restaurant. Smothered in butter and warm syrup of course. Notice how none of those say “chestnut”?
    Right.

    Only after I brewed the tea did I really notice the black tea. It was full-bodied, but it wasn’t overpowering. The buttery and nuttiness only showed up as a delightful aftertaste. I drank my tea without sugar or milk. It really doesn’t need it. But, I bet a dash of milk and sugar would turn Adagio’s Chestnut Tea into a nice dessert tea.

    Bottom Line, I really enjoyed this tea. It left me feeling cozy and wishing for a snowy afternoon. There was one downfall though. I only received a sample of this type of tea, and I can’t stop thinking of it!