Jasmine Tea for Mom n Me (and Rose Tea)

Jasmine Tea & Rose Tea !
These indulgent drinks arouse the senses of touch, taste and scent and are a pleasure to be enjoyed.

Ok, this isnt the conventional way to make Jasmine Tea  but its delicious n energizing besides smelling awesome!
and to top it all, the Jasmine are plucked fresh from the backyard.

 This Jasmine is a sambac, or Night Jasmine, a rare double-petalled variety at that. Its blooms open early in the morning and its heady fragrance is incredible.

This morning these beauties are headed into Tea.
Black Tea!
Green tea, which is normally used to make Jasmine Tea & served as such in Chinese restaurants, does not have a wide following in India.

So, 2 cups water, 2 tbsp Tea or about 1/2  the quantity to make regular black tea only so as to not overpower the Jasmine

Boil tea with 1 cup milk or more.

Drop in the Jasmine.
Turn the burner off, cover with a lid for 5 minutes.

If the Jasmine is boiled, much of its fragrance is lost

Garnish with a couple of blooms to heighten the fragrance. Serve immediately.

Sit back, Relax
Close your eyes , smell the fragrance and sip it slowly.

And is it really aphrodisiac?

Couldnt say for sure, but I find it relaxes me from yesterdays tensions and makes me warm & forgiving. Surely thats aphrodisiacal?

----------
Rose Tea
-----------

 Every once in a while, a flower seller comes by on his (bi)cycle with bags of flowers attached to it. Since I'm trying my hand at infusing them, (another post), I have fragrant roses at hand.

These are Rosa centifolia, the lighter colored variety which are more fragrant than the deeper pink ones.

Taking a couple handfuls of the washed and draining petals, I put them in a pot of merrily boiling water with black tea already added.

Turn off burner, cover with lid, wait 5 minutes.
After 5-6 minutes, the petals are near the consistency of cream and I love eating a couple of them along with my tea.
Add a touch of milk or drink without.

Tea is ready.

Sit back, smell the aroma of fresh roses & sip slowly.

Rose Tea unlike sedative Jasmine, makes for a  happy, playful & carefree mood.


Treat your senses!
Try them sometime!