The next iced tea in the list, based on rose water, cardamom, and black Ceylon tea, in the Persian way that Nazanin Yousefnejad of Tea Thoughts treasures.
Why does this particular combination make for an exquisite iced tea?
First, black teas in general, and Ceylon black tea in particular, contain a host of chemicals that they share with roses, so the rose water brings out the flavors of the tea. You need make a special effort to bring these flavors out in an iced tea because many of them activate the warm/hot receptors, which is turned off by cold. I am thinking particularly of beta-damascenone, which gives the rich warm smell to damask roses. Of course there are cool smells in both roses and black tea as well — am thinking of linalool, geraniol and nerol, all of which activate TRPM8, the cool receptor. However these are not as abundant in black tea as they are in green tea. Instead, the processing of black tea yields linalool oxides, which are warm/hot, so any help the warm/hot receptors can get with rose water to boost the black tea flavor is huge for your enjoyment.
Which brings me to cardamom. My guess is that green cardamom is the ingredient intended. If you look at the composition of cardamom essential oil from green cardamom, it offers a curious mix of chemicals, some of which activate the cool/cold receptors (e.g. limonene), and some that actually turn off TRPA1, the cold receptor that leads to pain (e.g. borneol).* The latter chemicals can actually give your iced tea a "warmer" feel, and decrease the pain that the ice could cause.
When you taste plain cardamom, you will notice that its flavor seems to change, shifting from cool to warm as these different receptors kick in — remember that cool receptors are quick-on-quick-off, while warm and hot ones are slow-on-slow-off. It's this sequence that makes the flavor of cardamom so fascinating and hard to characterize!
So go get your copy of the eBook and enjoy these marvelous flavor nuances for yourself!
** Masayuki Takaishi, Kunitoshi Uchida, Fumitaka Fujita, Makoto Tominaga. Inhibitory effects of monoterpenes on human TRPA1 and the structural basis of their activity. J Physiol Sci (2014) 64:47–57 DOI 10.1007/s12576-013-0289-0.
ReplyDeleteTwinings Ceylon tea, while initially perceived as a straightforward option, surprises with its nuanced flavors. The tea's character evolves, offering a dark and slightly bitter note when lightly steeped, transforming into a delightful brew with a more extended steeping time. The morning walk, despite the grey skies, proves invigorating, reinforcing the positive impact of this daily routine on setting a vibrant tone for the day. Ceylon Tea