Strawberry Rose Champagne Tea (copy cat recipe)

 

You know those free samples of tea at the mall?  Well I never really pay much attention to them since 1. the tea is always heavily sweetened and 2. I hate all those little plastic disposable cups they use for the tea (you can usually see a very large heap of them in the nearest trash can).

But today something was drawing me into the sample section of the Teavana store.  A powerful force ... Strawberry Rose Champagne oolong tea!  A small bag of tea retails at $12, but you can make this fruity tea at home for just pennies.  Since I was a little girl I have been going strawberry picking around this time of the year, so we always have lots of those little red gems around here.

Here's what to do:

Boil some water and let it sit while you prepare the tea.  Most tea snobs enthusiasts will not use boiling hot water for herbal tea because it will scold the herbs.

I use a stainless steel ball shaped strainer for my tea, and I love it.  I picked it up years ago at my favourite Asian market. 

It's easy to combine different ingredients and then pop it in a cup with some hot water.

After a few minutes of steeping you can take it out, empty and clean.  That easy.

 In your tea strainer combine:

• 2-4 fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon oolong (or green) tea leaves

Place the strainer in your cup with a drop or two of rosewater.  Add the boiled water, which by now should still be hot, but not scalding.

Let everything steep for 5 minutes and then consume!   

No actual champagne in my version (however according to Teavana's website their tea includes a "hint of bubbly champagne" (whatever that means).

You can sweeten the tea with some sugar or honey, but it is already naturally a bit sweet from the strawberries.  Try to use the best quality strawberries possible, as this will ultimately determine the taste of the tea (I didn't just sound like Martha Stewart there, did I?)  If you can't make it to the pick-your-own farm like me, then find some fresh, local strawberries from your farmers market for the sweetest cuppa'.