Tonight, I made my brother Ed a cup of tea. Being the flavour pioneer that I am, I attempted to put my own unique stamp on the brew with a few choice ingredients:
- 4 parts boiling water
- 1 part milk
- 1 Madura English Breakfast teabag
- pinch of T2 earl grey tea leaves
- 2 mustard seeds
- pinch of Home Brand instant coffee
- a raisin
- 3 fennel seeds
- an ant-sized portion of butter, melted onto the surface
Ed and I have battled it out over the years on the tea-making battlefield, seasoning each other's hot beverages with a variety of both edible and inedible ingredients. These have ranged from blatant to subtle. From a handful of rice in the bottom of the cup to a few grains of salt and a dash of vanilla essence. I believe tonight's effort was a good attempt to baffle my brother's taste buds, however the effort fell slightly short when he detected a blatantly foreign flavour after only a few sips, and proceeded to fish around in the cup with an old toothbrush, snagging one of the earl grey tea leaves. The jig was up.
My one goal is to craft a flavour adjustment so subtle, yet pleasing enough for Ed to thoroughly enjoy the beverage, at least up until the point where he discovers the interesting ingredients at the bottom of the cup. This is not to say that the brew must include insoluble elements to be discovered at the conclusion of consumption, but this often provokes a humorous and ultimately satisfying response.
The experiments will continue.
-L
