Amaretto Tea

Siete belli e ti amo! Ok, it’s been a long time but I think that means, “Baby, you are lovely and I love you.” How very Italian. Speaking of very Italian, Amaretto, now that’s Italian. Amaretto, a liqueur made of almonds, burnt sugar and the pure essence of 17 herbs and fruits have been prepared the same way since 1525. Legend has it that the drink was developed by the daughter of an innkeeper in Saronno, a small city near Milan. It seems the young woman was posing for a local artist who had been commissioned to paint a fresco in the local Basilica, the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie. So smitten was she with the handsome painter that she concocted a love potion to give to him so that he might be compelled to reciprocate her feelings. Amaretto was born, the painter fell in love, and roughly 500 years later it is safe to say that we at Culinary Teas have fallen in love with the sweet beverage. After tasting the drink many years ago we decided that the unique mélange of almond and fruit would make an excellent tea - and it does. The cup tends a wonderful nutty astringency with hints of cherry and sweet sugar that really opens with a touch of milk. Is there anyone you have your eye on? Serve them a cup and let the fireworks begin. Sorprendente! (I think that means “amazing!”)

What type of tea do we use, how do we flavor the tea and why do we use natural flavors?
Firstly... we only use high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva. These three high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic ‘Ceylon’ tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color and, most importantly - perfect for use as the base tea of our flavored teas. (We have tested teas from various other origins around the world as base stock for our flavored teas, but none of these teas made the grade.) Dimbula and the western estates of Nuwara Eliya have a major quality peak during Jan/Feb, whereas Uva and the eastern estates of Nuwara Eliya have their peak in July/Aug. This ‘dual peak period’ allow us to buy the best for our flavored tea blends several times during the year, ensuring top quality and freshness.

Secondly... we use flavoring oils not crystals to give the tea drinker an olfactory holiday before indulging in a liquid tea treat.

Thirdly... we specify natural flavors. High quality tea tastes good and natural flavors do not mask the natural taste of the high grown Ceylon tea. (The norm for many making flavored tea is to use overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to hide lower quality tea). Natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste giving the tea a clean and true character. It should be noted that natural flavors tend to be somewhat ‘soft ‘ and the flavors slightly muted, but for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.

Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Even though milk and a dash of sugar help enhance the flavor character on this tea, it is perfectly acceptable to consume this tea ‘straight-up’

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. 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 double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water]. Please note that this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice; a perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and nothing to worry about!