I have a mixed berry tea from Germany, maybe Poland that's mostly colour. There are blackberries, black chokecherry, elderberry, rowan (that's sarsaparilla), black currant leaf, hibiscuss and "flavour". Well, I can't expect much from a package that doesn't identify where its from. Also, I had some white tea hanging about for the past year. It was tied up into little bows and had visual interest but was low quality.
I got out my favorite glass tea pot and put a warming ring on the burner as I knew this would be a long steep to coax the flavour out of the dried fruits. I poured boiling water over an ample portion of the berries, about 1/3 c. to 8 oz. water and a small handful (about 2 tablespoons) of the white tea. I didn't want to use any tea that would turn bitter with a long steep.
A long steep is at least 5 minutes or longer. It is important to give the tea time to steep, keeping it warm in the meantime.The berries have to absorb the water then release their flavours. I prepared a serving tray and rhubarb-bran muffin. The sour berries and sour rhubarb would require a balancing sweetness. I picked a home-made peach jam to also add some complimentary colour. I could easily have made an ice tea as an alternative. Other times, I have soaked the berry tea in warm water for 10 minutes before adding in hot water and tossing in the white tea at the end of the steep. This keeps any bitterness from taking over the pot.If you have any leftover strawberries blueberries, apple, orange pieces, add them in as well. This tea needs a good helping of sweetener.
The result was a beautiful burgundy-coloured tea with high antioxidants, great for saturating colour in the 1st chakra and giving you an energy boost. You could also have made a dessert jelly by adding some unflavoured gelatin or agar agar for setting. This tea was perfect for warming up a damp day and waiting for the clouds to clear.
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