Here, two powerful Asian flavors meet in a glass. Perfect when the weather heats up, this simple drink shows off the flowery quality of the best Jasmine tea from China. In the southeastern part of China, green tea leaves are layered at night with Jasmine flowers plucked that morning. The Chinese Jasmine flower only blossoms at night, so this is the perfect time to infuse tea with the fragrance of this very special flower. The subtle tang of lemongrass adds the right edge of tartness. |
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| Ingredients |
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| Lemongrass Syrup |
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| 2 cups / 450 grams granulated white sugar |
| 2 Cups / 500 milliliters water |
| 6 fat stalks fresh lemongrass, coarsely chopped and mashed |
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| Note: The above quantities are intentionally generous to allow for leftovers since the syrup may be used to flavour seasonal fruit salads or perk up fruits that look better than they taste. This syrup keeps at least a month in the refrigerator and may also be used to flavour dressings or to drizzle over fresh fruit such as star fruit, melon, pineapple, mango and papaya. |
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| The Tea |
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| 2 tablespoons / 28 grams Jasmine tea leaves |
| 1 quart / 1 liter cold water |
| Garnishes: 1 lemongrass stalk, one-fourth of a fresh pineapple, cored, thinly sliced into triangular wedges |
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| Preparation |
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| Make the syrup by bringing the sugar and water to boil. When boiling, add the lemongrass stalks, which have been coarsely chopped and mashed with a mallet or rolling pin to release their flavour. Remove from the heat and let stand until cool. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve extracting as much liquid as possible. Pour into a glass jar, cover and refrigerate. |
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| Brew the tea by heating water to 180 to 185*F / 82 to 85*C. Infuse for 3 minutes. Strain and reserve. |
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| Pour about 1 tablespoon / 15 milliliters of the lemongrass syrup into each tall glass. Top with tea, add ice as desired. Garnish with a stick of lemongrass inserted into a thin wedge of fresh pineapple. Serves 2. |
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