Blend Your Own Tea: 3 Recipes

I love tea. I’ve always had, and even more so since I’ve lived in Australia and discovered so many fabulous types of loose leaf tea available from boutique shops all around the country. Until I tried and saw for myself however, I hadn’t realised how fun and rewarding the experience of tea blending could be. It is one of the most beautiful and blissful things you can have pleasure of pursuing. It is half art, half sensory delight.

Under the guidance of an experienced tea blender, I enrolled myself into an unforgettable experience of blending my own tea. I created three different blends, tailored to my own taste, picked a name for each of them and packed them away to take home with me. Today I’m sharing those 3 recipes with you.

Perhaps most important thing I learned during the tea blending workshop, is that first you have to choose a ‘base’ for your blend. For example, it can be green tea, black tea, white tea, earl grey, peppermint tea, Oolong, Darjeeling etc. Of course, you can mix two bases, like I did in some of my recipes. As long as you don’t mix ingredients that will overpower one another you will be fine. The base form the core of your blend. Then you gradually add flavouring using flowers, fruits or spices. You add half a tea spoon (or a tea spoon) at a time, and mix the blend, look at it, smell it, then add more of your selected ingredients or add something else until obtaining the desired look, smell and taste. Once you think your blend is ready, brew a small amount (make sure you brew it at the correct temperature depending on the type of tea you are using), then taste it. You can then modify it slightly by making gradual adjustments before packaging your final blend into an air tight container.

1. L’Ete Indien

In the south of France, l’ete indien (Indian summer) is what we call the season between summer and autumn, where the days have started getting a little shorter, but they are still hot, dry and sunny. The leaves on the trees and vineyards start turning different shades of yellow and orange but the sweet aromas of the warm dry summer are still in full play. I created this blend with nostalgia for my home country.

Brew at 80℃

3 tsp green tea
1 tsp chamomile
1 tsp peppermint
1.5 tsp lavender buds
1 tsp corn flowers
1 tsp blue mallow flowers
1 tsp rose petals
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp lemon myrtle
1/2 tsp bergamotte
1/2 tsp lime peel
1/2 hibiscus

2. Baby Boy

I named this blend in honour to my own baby boy – his first personalised gift from mummy! I wanted it to be beautiful and fragrant, with a good balance between character and sweetness.

Brew at 100℃

4 tsp of earl grey tea
1 tsp of green tea
1.5 tsp of lavender buds
1.5 tsp corn flowers
1 tsp of blue mallow flowers
A pinch of rose petals

3. French Earl Grey

One of my favourite tea blends. I have first discovered it at the T Totaler Cake & Tea degustation. I loved it for its intense floral aroma and its delicate look, I bought a full jar of it at the time, but I am running low. So what a better to replenish my supplies than by making my own this time around!