When one of my favorite tea shops in Scotland announced they had a cookbook coming, I definitely pre-ordered it. Then Barnes and Noble canceled the pre-order. Then I had to get it off of the general internet; ordering it from the shop online store would have cost more in shipping than the book. But I finally got Brew, Bake, Sip & Savour. I’m not super surprised, but it is almost a necessity that you either have or are pretty familiar with Bird & Blend Tea Co. blends for this book to work; thankfully, I do and I am. As you might have already guessed, you also need to have the loose-leaf versions for nearly everything that’s not a drink
There are 60 recipes, divided according to tea type involved (black, green, oolong, herbal, fruity, rooibos, and match). Before the recipes, there are some general instructions for tea brewing, so of which are actually kind of interesting. I know that green tea needs slightly cooler water than herbal or black, and should steep for fewer minutes. I do appreciate the cold brew (yes, you can do that with tea) method as well as the concentrate option, and some of the ratios for tea lattes or additions might be interesting to try (mostly things like citrus slices, fizzy water, and lemonade). I also now know how to say “rooibos”, which is one of those words that I’ve always slightly suspected I may not be saying quite correctly.
The actual recipes include some expected things, like cocktail or mocktails (matcha bees knees, anyone?), but you also get things like chamomile hummus, a steak rub (with a smoky black tea) or a salmon rub (rooibos), and some quick breads with tea leaves literally baked in. Using a peppermint cream oolong in the frosting of a peppermint chocolate cake sort of makes sense, but I hadn’t thought of ever putting strawberry herbal tea in donut dough. Likewise, the rooibos pumpkin soup might be worth a try, but I’d have never thought of that on my own. Green tea in miso soup or in pear poaching makes sense, but I don’t know about that matcha salad dressing. Then again, I’m also not a huge matcha fan. Might still try those white chocolate matcha muffins though.