There's so much guff talked about coffee these days - people who pour the stuff are called by special names as though they have qualifications rather than being a jumped-up kettle. And although I do like a good caffeine hit, I could do without the side-serving of pretentiousness and baseless disdain. So it's back to the basics of a good cuppa for me.
5 Favourite Teas:
- Ceylon black tea (of the P.G. Tips/ Tetley variety) - there are few problems in England that aren't ameliorated with a good brew
- Darjeeling - a delicate floral aroma and light muscat grapes notes, known as 'the champagne of teas'.
- Earl Grey - supposedly named after the Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey, and British Prime Minister between 1830 and 1834. The tea is flavoured with the oil from the bergamot orange rind.
- Lapsang Souchong - known in China as 'tea for Westerners'. The word 'souchong' refers to the fourth and fifth leaves of the tea plant, further from the prized bud (pekoe) and coarser than the more desirable leaves, so they are smoke-dried over pinewood fires to make them palatable.
- Chai - a warming, soothing style thanks to the addition of Indian spices including cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper.
My new favourite thing is fennel tea. Twinings have brought out a version in their infusions range, which they call Pure Fennel and in which they claim to only use fennel seeds. Hmm, I could probably pick a few and add my own boiling water, and not have to pay for a box with a rather fey picture on the front of a fennel bush in flower.
My run through Pass of Branda (which sounds wonderfully gothic or otherworldly but is actually just a wee hill between bays) is lined with fennel – in the summer it feels like running through a curry kitchen of bright yellow flowers; in spring the brilliant green feathery fronds hold enough residual moisture to soak you as you brush past.
Fennel is naturally caffeine-free, has ‘anti-spasmodic properties’ and stimulates the production of gastric juices. Not only is it useful for gastrointestinal and menstrual cramps, heartburn, diarrhoea, and colic, but apparently it can also be used to help alleviate the symptoms of whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, and other upper-respiratory infections. I don't know if any of this is true, but it is a great ingredient to add a piquant flavour to many meals. I discovered a great recipe involving fennel, pernod and cannellini beans which goes perfectly with firm white fish. My mouth is watering as I think of it.
Fennel has been used as a drug to aid indigestion for centuries form the Chinese to the Greeks and of course, the Romans. It is native to the Mediterranean and has a mild liquorice flavour. Fennel tea is not as strong as liquorice tea, which can leave an unpleasant aftertaste. Fennel tea is good for bloating and gas, and can be combined with peppermint for a different type of refreshing flavour.
As with all organic and natural remedies, there may or may not be a measure of truth to any of this, but who cares? It tastes good!
