tea

Electric Tea Kettle Heaven

Hamilton Beach Electric Tea Kettle
Hamilton Beach Electric Tea Kettle

A couple weekends ago, I was out with my mom and we each bought an electric tea kettle like this.

I used to think this was a superfluous item; you can heat water in the microwave or in a kettle on the stove. But after using one at the B&B in England, I warmed to the idea – the electric kettle is much quicker to make a cup of tea and with so little cleanup. This tea kettle lets you know how much water is in it, and super heats the water in less than a minute. It will shut off automatically after it boils so you don’t leave it on. And I’ve used it more than any other counter-top appliance in our house in the past two weeks. Tea – my new drink of choice.

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Chai Tea

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From the kitchen of: Laurie Pumphrey

For each cup of tea, you will need:

  • 1 green cardamon pod
  • 1 clove
  • 1 pea-size piece fresh ginger
  • half-inch piece cinnamon stick
  • 1-2 whole black peppercorn
  • 1 tsp black tea

Grind all the spices except for fresh ginger and tea in a clean coffee grinder or mortar/pestal. If desperate, pound them up with a hammer. Dried ginger may be substitued for fresh, but be careful not to use too much since it is more concentrated.
Boil everything together, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain/strain spices and tea leaves out. Sweeten to taste and add cream if you wish.

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Thai Iced Tea

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From the kitchen of: unknown

  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup Thai tea leaves (go to this tea club to buy it in its finest quality)
  • 3/4 cup sugar, or as needed
  • Crushed ice
  • 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or half and half

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, add the tea leaves and remove pan from the heat. Gently stir

the tea leaves to submerge them in the water. Let the tea steep for 5 minutes, or until it turns a brilliant orange and has a strong taste with no bitterness. Pour the tea through a coffee filter or fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir well to dissolve completely. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, or for up to 1 week.

To serve, fill tall glasses with crushed ice, add tea to fill about 3/4 of each glass, then pour about 1/4 cup of evaporated milk or halfandhalf over the ice in each glass. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

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