Creme Au Caramel Rooibos

Description

Luxury Organic Ingredients: Rooibos, Calendula petals, Natural flavors (Organic compliant)
Infusion: Reddish orange to full color
Antioxidant / Caffeine Level: Caffeine free herb / Low

During the latter half of the 20th century, Crème au caramel became as ubiquitous on the restaurant dessert menus of the world as Irish pubs did on street-corners. And there is good reason for this. Crème au caramel is delectable. It is also very simple to make and consists of only milk, eggs, sugar, and sometimes vanilla. As simple as it may be however, crème au caramel has a very complex medium rich flavor profile. (Which makes it as natural as a flavoring for the mellow character of Rooibos!)

Interestingly, this fine dessert is also one of the world’s oldest. Well, almost, it is actually a derivative of a custard known as flan and flans are one of the world’s oldest desserts. Well, ok, even flans didn’t start out as desserts. Flan, which is the generic term for a custard made of milk and eggs was invented by Roman chefs thousands of years ago. The Romans discovered that egg white worked extremely well as a binding agent in holding various ingredients together. They began experimenting by mixing eggs with milk and called their subsequent invention Tiropatinum.

Initially, Tiropatinum was not a dessert item. Rather, it was flavored with such delicacies as Ox Tongue or Eel and served as a main course. (Incidentally, we did think about producing an Eel Rooibos but thankfully the idea never made past the early conceptual phase!) As the centuries passed, Tiropatinum evolved into sweet custard with the addition of honey or sugar, and sweet custard evolved into Crème au caramel with the discovery of caramel – thought to have been first created by French chefs sometime in the 18th century. Someday we hope that food historians will look back on our offering of caffeine free Crème au Caramel Rooibos as an important milestone in the long life cycle of flans, custards and their related culinary cousins. Once they have a cup of this exceptionally smooth, creamy sweet brew we’re sure they will!

Hot tea brewing method: Bring filtered or freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 2 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea for each 7-9oz/200-260ml of fluid volume in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 5-8 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Add milk and sugar to taste.

Iced tea brewing method (Pitcher): (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 12 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea, 12 tea bags or 12 Q3 single serve packets into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1¼ cups/315ml over the tea. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the tea bags. 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 increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about.)

Iced tea brewing method (Individual Serving): Place 2 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea into a teapot for each serving required. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the tea. Cover and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional ½ serving. Sweeten and/or add lemon to taste. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)

ANTIOXIDANT BENEFIT: More antioxidants are extracted from tea (L. Camellia Sinesis), or rooibos (Asphalatus Linearis), the longer it is brewed….and the more tea or rooibos that is used, the greater the antioxidant benefit.

Ideal Brewing Temperature: 100ºC/212ºF. Minimum Brewing Temperature: 90ºC/194ºF.