Almost every household in India has its favourite brand, blend and method of preparing tea. It might vary slightly by season, but there is not much left to teach. What celebrity chef and MasterChef India judge Ranveer Brar does, taking to Instagram on April 22, is help us identify the major variations of tea based on the processing of the leaf. He also shares three recipes to make iced tea in the summer, as well as prepare an iced tea mocktail.
Different types of tea
In his post, Ranveer Brar introduces us to four different types of tea leaves. The first is white tea. As the chef explained, “When the tea leaves are young, and they have not taken any colour after being dried, it is known as white tea.”
“Next comes green tea,” he shared. This type of tea is also unoxidised, and often steamed or pan-fried to maintain the fresh flavour.
“After that, if the tea is allowed to oxidise, but not completely, we get oolong tea. And the completely oxidised tea is what we know and love as black tea,” shared Ranveer Brar. “The darker the colour of the tea, the longer the time and the greater the temperature it will take to brew.”
“Thus, white tea takes the least time and temperature, brewing at around 75 degrees centigrade. Green takes 80 to 85 degrees, oolong 90 to 95 degrees, and black tea can be boiled at 100 degrees. Darker the tea, stronger the brewing method.”
Iced tea recipes
Brewing black tea
Ingredients:
- 1 litre of Water
- 3-4 Black peppercorns
- ¼ tsp Fennel seeds
- A sprig of mint
- A pinch of salt
- 3 heaped tbsp Tea leaves
- 10 heaped tbsp Sugar
Method:
- In a saucepan, add water, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, tender mint stems, a pinch of salt, and tea leaves, and boil it for a few minutes.
- Add sugar and get a quick boil. Transfer it to a bowl, cool it down to room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator.
- Keep it aside for further use.
Brewing oolong and green tea
Ingredients (for each):
- 2 heaped tbsp of tea leaves
- ½ liter Water, hot
Method:
- In a saucepan, add water and bring it to a roaring boil.
- In a glass jar, add the tea leaves, hot water and keep it aside for brewing.
- Cool it down to room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator.
Lemon iced tea
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 Lime, sliced
- Few Mint leaves
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2-4 Ice cubes
- Brewed Black tea
For garnish
Method:
- In a highball glass, add lemon juice, sliced lime, a few mint leaves, sugar and muddle it well with the help of a muddler.
- Add ice cubes, brewed black tea and garnish it with a mint sprig and a lemon slice.
- Serve chill.
Peach iced tea
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 Peach, sliced
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2-4 Ice cubes
- Brewed black tea
For garnish
Method:
- In a highball glass, add lemon juice, peach, sugar and muddle it well with the help of a muddler.
- Add ice cubes, brewed black tea and stir it well
- Garnish it with peach, mint sprig and serve chilled.
Watermelon iced tea
Ingredients:
- ¼ inch Ginger, peeled & sliced
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ⅓ cup Watermelon, cubed
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Basil seeds, soaked
- 2-3 Watermelon, cubed
- 2-4 Ice cubes
- Brewed oolong tea
Method:
- In a highball glass, add ginger, sugar and muddle it well with the help of a muddler.
- Add watermelons, honey and crush it well.
- Add lemon juice, basil seeds, watermelon, ice cubes, brewed oolong tea and stir it well.
- Garnish it with a watermelon slice, mint sprig, slice of a lime, basil seeds and serve chilled.
Iced tea mocktail
Ingredients:
- 2-3 tbsp Lemon juice
- Prepared Lemon iced tea
- Prepared Peach iced tea
- Brewed Black tea
- 6-8 Ice cubes
For garnish
- Mint sprig
- Watermelon, sliced
- Lime, sliced
- 1 tsp Basil seeds, soaked
Method:
- In a large water jug, add lemon juice, prepared lemon tea, prepared peach tea, brewed black tea, ice cubes and stir well and serve chilled.
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
This article is for informational purposes only.
