Cranberries have been working hard to overcome the idea that they’re only for Thanksgiving, but more and more people are opening up to the delicious, sweet-tart flavor of this amazing fruit. Bursting with anti-oxidants, the flavor of cranberries is perfect for tantalizing your palate with its characteristic flavor, keeping your palate active and engaged. Cranberries have also been shown to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, keeping you heart healthy!
The cranberry is known for being an intrinsic part of holiday feasts, but did you know that the cranberry was first dubbed the ‘crane' berry? This came about as cranes tramping through the cranberry bogs feasted on the berries. The cranberry was also known as a bounce berry, brought about by the fact that the berries ‘jumped' when dropped. Enjoyed by the Native American Indians, cranberries are a tart fruit initially, but over time, this piquant taste was adapted to suit the palates of the settlers, too. Today, the flavor of the cranberry is crisp and holds a high place in health values. This tea is quite refreshing, to say the least, especially when paired with a brisk Ceylon tea. Enjoy this full flavored and pungent tea with its saucy cranberry character hot or iced.
Hot tea brewing method: As with all top quality teas, scoop 1-3 teaspoons of tea into the teapot. Pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most if its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting), steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), stir (virtually all the leaves will sink), pour into your cup, add milk (do not use cream) and sugar to taste. When you are making a pot of tea - using loose tea of course - you will see the tea leaves uncurl and expand dramatically. This uncurling and expansion is called ‘the agony of the leaf’.
Iced tea-brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher, straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. (A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water). Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!
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