People of the world, spice up your life! Spice is not just for 90’s girl bands. The fall season brings with it, a large selection of popular spicy flavours. We trade in the uber fruity, sweet, and citrus for the biting and savoury kick of spice. We have a spice for everyone. For those days when the trees are nearly naked without their leaves and the sky is a gloomy dark, sometimes all you need is a vitalizing sip of spice. Pumpkin Spice We see trends come and go. We have seen the...

The Taste of Fall As the summer sun begins to hide away, the earthy green landscape is exchanged for vibrant warm leaves, and the sweaters are resurrected from the depths of our closets, we can feel that fall is in the air. It seems like things change overnight when we begin to feel, see, and experience the presence of fall. And now we can even taste the sure sign of fall in autumn’s favourites: warm cinnamon, fresh apples, vanilla, almonds, and other freshly invigorating flavours. We now...

Bring 1 litre of whole milk (almond milk, soy milk) to a steam on the stove. Crush ½ teaspoon of cardamom seeds (optional) with a mortar and pestle. Add to milk. After you see steam rising from the milk add 10 teaspoons of Masala Chai.  Give one stir (don’t stir any more because stirring will release the bitter tannins from the leaves).  Remove from heat source, cover and let it steep for at least 5 minutes.  Strain, sweeten as desired and enjoy!

You won't want to miss this event when we reminisce about our jaunt to beautiful Sri Lanka. You'll learn all you could want about Ceylon tea, the prized crop of this teardrop-shaped island just south of India. Sri Lanka is one of the major tea producing countries in the world. Join Stefanie Stolzel from The Tea Haus as she discusses her recent trip to some of the tea regions of Sri Lanka. Enjoy and sample some of the best teas Sri Lanka has to offer, fresh from the gardens. Please...

Why We Love Matcha Matcha is a long-standing traditional Japanese tea and has quickly become a popular “super-food” due to its nutrient-rich and nurturing properties. Matcha stands apart from many other loose leaf green teas due to its powdered consistency. Matcha is produced from the leaves of shade-grown tea and then ground into a fine powder with a hand mill. As opposed to being steeped, Matcha is actually mixed into water and ingested. There are Matcha accessories that allow...

Time To Refresh Your Rou-tea-n Summer is here! And with it the perfect time to refresh your tea routine by swapping your traditional hot cup for an iced infusion. Keep reading to discover which iced tea to pick based on your taste preferences and how to make the perfect cup of iced tea.  If You Love That Flavour, Try This Iced Tea 1. Tropical Thirst Quencher = Mango Mango Nothing puts us more into summer mode than juicy tropical fruits. Mango Mango is a  premium Ceylon tea...

Mango Iced Tea (Decaffeinated or regular black tea; Mango Mango Black tea can also be substituted with most of our fruit blends i.e. Lime Fizz) Bring 1 litre of filtered water to a boil.In a teapot, steep 10 teaspoons of Mango Mango Black Tea for 5 minutes.Fill a jug or container with ice cubes (the jug should hold 2 litres).Add 1/3 can of frozen white lemonade concentrate to sweeten the iced tea. This will add some zest and just enough sugar.Strain the leaves and pour the hot tea into...

Rooibos tea, also called red bush tea is not a true tea, but a herb - the young shoots of the south african shrub, aspalanthus linearis, indigenous to the cederberg area in south africa. Rooibos contains no caffeine and is supplemental to the daily intake of: calcium, manganese and fluoride. It does not have a negative effect on the absorption of iron, due to the fact that it contains half the tannin found in regular teas. Rooibos contains no additives, preservatives, colorants and is free...

Recipe by Christine Scheer This has been another one of the fantastic dishes that we did get to enjoy during our class with Christine Scheer. Christine is always very keen on using local, seasonal, and organic ingredients for her dishes. Ingredients: 1 flank steak, about 1 ½ - 2 lbs1/4 cup (60 mL) black tea leaves1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground ginger1 cinnamon stick1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds1 Tablespoon (15 mL) brown sugar1/2 teaspoon salt Directions: In an electric...

Recipe by Mies Bervoets Served over rice of your choice Yield 8 portions This dish is spicy Ingredients: 2 pds. pork tenderloin cut into 1-inch pieces1 pd. cremini mushrooms, washed and cut into quarters2 tbsp. oil¼ cup peanuts toasted and chopped fine2 tbsp. black peppercorns4 tbsp. cilantro stems chopped fine2 tbsp. fresh ginger minced4 tbsp . garlic8 tbsp. fish sauce or more to taste if needed5 tbsp. Kikkoman soy sauce6 tbsp. dark brown sugar ¼ cup water2 cups chicken stock...

Dragon blend consomme with seasonal fruit, blossoms, & lemon sorbet Recipe by: Kristian Crossen This recipe serves 4 Ingredients: For the tea: 2 tsp Dragon Blend (green tea) 500ml filtered or spring water 1.5 tsp Wild flower honey 0.5 tsp lemon juice For the seasonal fruit: 75g Fresh red currants 100g Fresh blue berries 100g Fresh raspberries 150g fresh strawberries, quartered 1 Peach, halved, stone removed and sliced 12 Lemon thyme leaves...

Cast iron teapots were created in ancient China. They were then adopted and further developed by the Japanese into practical as well as decorative handicraft items. They symbolize the everlasting strength and unity of the world. Through special chemical treatments, impurities are removed from the cast iron during the production process. A coating of misty black enamel is then applied to help prevent the development of rust. As water is boiled, trace amounts of iron in the water from the...