White Chocolate Rooibos

According to a renowned Swiss chocolate expert, chocolate and especially truffles are better than sex. Why? Because the word “commitment” doesn’t scare people off when you’re talking about truffles. And the Swiss should know. They’ve been wooing people the world over with their chocolate confections since 1697. In that year, Heinrich Escher, the mayor of Zurich drank some hot chocolate while on a business trip to Brussels and became infatuated with its delicious flavor immediately. From that day forward the histories of chocolate and Switzerland became inextricably linked. Over the next 200 years or so, chocolate making in Switzerland thrived as a small-scale cottage industry with small companies experimenting with all sorts of ways of producing chocolate. In 1819 that all changed when a man named Francois-Louis Cailler built Switzerland’s first chocolate making factory and set the stage for the world famous industry we have all fallen in love with.

As a way of saying thank you to the fine chocolate makers of Switzerland, we decided to concoct an herbal tea that reflects the flavor of one of their finest delicacies - the white truffle. White chocolate, which forms the base of white truffles, derives its milky color from the presence of up to 3 times the amount of cocoa butter found in traditional dark chocolates. The cocoa butter gives the truffles a very smooth, mild chocolatey taste which is also evident in the flavor this blend. Like all Rooibos teas, this one is caffeine free, high in minerals, and has a very unique full-bodied profile. The character of the white chocolate is perfectly balanced by the subtleties of the Rooibos and the hint of mint that was added to help round out the blend. The result is in our humble estimation, one of the tastiest Rooibos blends on the market. It is also in our humble estimation, like chocolate itself, better than sex. Why? There’s no need to fake anything when enjoying a cup of this tea - any sounds of pleasure you feel inclined to emit will be all natural!

200 ml (about 7 ounces) of brewed Rooibos contains the following nutrients:

Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of Rooibos for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the pot, cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes. Pour into your cup; add milk and sugar to taste.

Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 teaspoons of Rooibos into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the Rooibos. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the Rooibos into the serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.

References: [1] South African Medical Research Council - www.mrc.ac.za//promec/antimutagenic.htm