For decades tea lovers have lived with it - a feeling that something is missing, a hole in their hearts.  Every sip contains just a touch of emptiness, every cup a sense of longing.  All of my readers immediately know what I am referring to, of course: poo envy.

Tea drinkers have had to endure a cup of plain ol’, poo-free tea, while coffee drinkers are prancing around drinking Kopi Luwak, a coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, then …well, “passed through” its digestive tract (if you know what I’m saying).  Not only that, but these coffee drinkers were lucky enough to be paying out the you-know-what for the privilege to drink the poo-laced delicacy.

But have no fear, my brave tea drinkers, Chinese entrepreneur An Yanshi has some good news for you: you’ll be getting your poo soon enough!  He is convinced he has found the key ingredient to produce the world’s most expensive tea - panda poo.  And he’s willing to put his poo where is mouth is - he purchased 11 tons of excrement from a panda breeding center to use as fertilizer in his tea plantation in southwestern China.

And I hate to admit it, but there is a speck of good science there - pandas only absorb about 30% of the nutrients in the bamboo that they consume, excreting the remaining 70 percent.  This leads to soil which is quite rich, perfect for growing hardy tea plants.

That being said, with a pricetag of almost 220,000 yuan ($35,000) for just 500 grams (a little over a pound) - making it one of the most expensive teas in the world -  the “Panda Tea” idea (note that they’ve left an important word out of the title!) does seem to be a bit of a stinker.

I guess I’ll have to stick with my poo-free tea until they find a way to raise the economies of scale to make it a bit more tangible to the everyday tea drinker.

Oh, well… until that day arrives I’ll just have to brew up a cup of Pu Erh and just have to imagine that it has real poo in it.

(Or I could go down to my local supermarket and buy a box of the bottom-of-the-barrel crap they pass off as real tea!)

Last Christmas I posted my recipe for Chai Eggnog, which many folks raved about.  However, with all the rush and stress that accompanies this wonderful holiday season, some folks gruffled that it simply took too long and was too much work at such a crazy time of year.

So this year I present to you a “cheater version” of this recipe, which has been thoroughly enjoyed in the Tavalon breakroom for the past couple weeks (without the optional booze, I would hope).  Since it doesn’t taste exactly the same as the original recipe, the staff has given it a new moniker, Cheggnog (which I secretly refer to as “Cheater Eggnog“… but it is still pretty good).

The major difference between this recipe and the previous is that we go back on the original premise that you have to make the eggnog from scratch, instead emphasizing that the quality of the store-bought brand is essential.

Instead of buying the bottom-of-the-barrel eggnog found in most corner supermarkets, I encourage you to try to find one in which you can pronounce most of the ingredients, and preferably is organic.

After that, you just heat and add tea!  Enjoy:

Cheggnog

4 cups high-quality store-bought eggnog, preferably organic
1 heaping tablespoon Kama Chai Sutra
Spiced Rum or Bourbon (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat the eggnog until just before boiling. Remove from heat, add tea leaves, stir and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain and chill for 3 hours.

Once it is thoroughly chilled, serve in a teacup with 1.5 oz of rum or bourbon (if using) and sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg.

Merry Christmas to all!

 Tonight marks the first day of Hanukkah, a night for celebrating amazing things.

And what could be more amazing than a Sufganiyot (an Israeli doughnut) infused with tea?!

So here, for my Jewish friends and goyim alike, here is my version of a recipe I found on one of my favorite websites, Chow.com.

Kama Chai Sufganiyot with Orange-Pumpkin Buttercream

For the doughnuts:
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Vegetable oil, for coating the bowl
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon Kama Chai Sutra
1/3 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), cut into 8 pieces and at room temperature

For the buttercream filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature
1/4 cup pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (optional)
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

To finish:
2 quarts vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the doughnuts, first place 2 1/2 cups of flour, the cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and combine; set aside. Coat a second large bowl with vegetable oil; set aside.

Then, steep your tea leaves for 7 minutes, then strain and allow to cool to just over room temperature (anywhere between 105F to 115F).

Place the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a medium bowl. Add the warm tea and stir to combine, then let sit until the mixture is foaming, about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add this mixture to the reserved flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and begins to form a ball.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Scatter the butter pieces over the dough and knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup of additional flour as needed if the dough is sticky. Form the dough into a ball, place it in the oiled bowl, and turn to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Once the dough has risen, punch it down, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, and roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-1/2-inch round cutter, stamp out as many dough rounds as possible and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1/4 inch apart. Gather the dough scraps into a ball and roll out and cut again. Discard any remaining dough scraps.

Cover the dough rounds loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let them rise in a warm place until puffy and about 1/2 inch thick, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling.

For the buttercream filling, place the butter, pumpkin, nutmeg, and orange zest (if using) in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until completely smooth and combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip; set aside at room temperature.

To finish:

Place the oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot and set it over medium heat until the temperature reaches 365°F on a candy/fat thermometer. Meanwhile, fit a wire rack over a second baking sheet; set aside. Place the sugar in a large bowl; set aside.
When the oil is ready, add 4 of the dough rounds and fry until golden brown, flipping halfway through, about 2 minutes total. (If air bubbles appear in the doughnuts, pierce them with the tip of a paring knife.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the doughnuts to the wire rack. Add 4 more dough rounds to the oil. While these dough rounds are frying, use tongs to transfer the first 4 (still-hot) doughnuts into the bowl of sugar. Toss to coat in the sugar, then return to the wire rack. Repeat frying and sugarcoating the remaining dough rounds.

When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the center. Place the tip of the piping bag into the pocket and pipe about 1 heaping teaspoon of buttercream inside.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be appropriate to share a recipe that both you and your guests will be thankful for.

Instead of that gross can-shaped glob of super-sweet cranberry sauce, here is a super-delicious tea-infused alternative your guests will be sure to gobble down!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crimson Punch Cranberry Compote

2 cups sugar
3 cups Crimson Punch
2 pounds fresh cranberries, washed
4 allspice berries
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 large or 2 small fresh bay leaf
1 orange, juiced and zested in strips
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

In a saute pan, add sugar and herbal tea. Bring to a simmer and cook until it creates slow bubbles. Add cranberries and stir, bringing temperature to low.

Continue to cook cranberries, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes. Add allspice, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf, orange juice, zest and salt.

Cook until cranberries begin to burst and thicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

Remove allspice, cinnamon, bay leaf, star anise, and orange zest from cranberries mixture and either puree cranberries in a high-speed blender for smooth cranberry compote, or leave as is for textured compote.

I’m excited to announce that, this weekend, we’re going to be working hard.

While this statement may seem to be a bit odd, it is for good reason: this weekend we will be the official tea of the 2011 International Emmy Awards - for the second year in a row!

That’s right, they enjoyed the tea (ahem, and tea cocktails) so thoroughly last year that they invited us back for seconds!

This year one of my newest creations (which I promise to share the recipe for after the festivities are over) - the Peachy Oolong Bellini - is going to be the champagne toast to start the whole awards ceremony.

On top of that, we will have our very own lounge in the festival, dubbed the Emmy-Winning Tavalon Tea Lounge, were we will be serving up a handful of hot teas, our ever-popular Genius iced tea and, later on in the evenings, our SmarTEAni cocktail.

I am excited, nervous and honored!

I happened to catch a scene from Conan last week, when I heard a familiar word being mentioned: tea!

Naturally, my attention was piqued and after watching the video again, I knew I had to share!

The whole video is quite funny, but my favorite part is, of course, around the 5-minute mark when he is offered the Yerba Mate.

And before I get a torrent of emails, no: it is not a drug, and you should not smoke it.

Enjoy!

It has been a while since The Voice was heard… we’ve had our share of problems, most unfortunate being the fact that this blog (who didn’t do anything wrong to anyone) was hacked!

Anyway, we are back up and running and can’t be more excited.

To jump back into things, I thought we’d play a funny video about a guy breaking up with his coffee maker to begin a lifetime romance with tea.

Enjoy:

(although I’d advise the director to spellcheck the title … tea is “healthy” not heathy!)

If you haven’t heard yet, let me be the first to tell my fine readers that something big is amiss in the world of Tavalon.  After a few years outside of the retail arena, we will soon be throwing our collective hat back into the ring with a new store in NYC!

Since we are still in the very early stages of development, it is a bit premature to announce an official opening date, but I thought it may be interesting to share with you my experiences as this project progresses…

A few quick updates for this week: on a physical front, we have already started demolition, which will quickly be followed by construction. The space is quite a bit larger than I’m used to (our old location on 14th Street was just under 400 square feet, this location is nearly 900!)… this means more room to play around with, and -amazingly - room for people to sit!

From a design perspective, the general visuals and layout of the space has also been completed and the more minute details are being worked out now.  The concept is simple: clean, modern, hip and thoroughly inviting.

As for the tea, I am busy coming up with delicious new tea concoctions, both hot and iced, as well as some interesting tea-infused treats.  We will also be serving coffee at the cafe, something which at first struck me as a terrible idea, but once my creative juices started flowing I found that it gave me an opportunity for more flavor, like an artist that was just given a bigger canvas and a fuller palette.

For those who are familiar with some of our previous offerings, let me just say that you’ll be happy to see some old favorites, but also excited to see some new creations!

That’s it for this report - stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Not sure where they get their statistics from, but the tea part is true!