China
From £8.50
Native to the Philippines and Malaysia, Lemongrass is a popular culinary and medicinal herb today. It makes a delicious tea, with a mildly sweet, zesty lemon flavour which is refreshing and not overpowering. In Kerala, this herbal tea is called Chukku Kaapi. Lemongrass grows abundantly and can be harvested several times in a year. Today, most Lemongrass comes from Argentina and Chile.
Lemongrass tea is especially popular in Togo, the Congo and Mexico. Now, it is quickly gaining popularity in the UK and Europe.
As a culinary herb, Lemongrass is excellent with poultry, fish and beef. It is widely used in Thai cooking. The growing awareness of Thai food in the West is largely responsible for Lemongrass's growing popularity as a tea and medicinal herb.
From £5.05
Gunpowder is one of the most famous names in tea. This quality China green tea, from Zhejiang Province, is rolled into tight pellets. The pellets are a black-green colour and resemble lead shot – or, it seems, gunpowder, which is how this robust, invigorating and delicious tea got its name.
Gunpowder tea is popular in the Middle East and North Africa, where it is blended with mint and large amounts of sugar to make Touareg. Gunpowder is also drunk on its own as a delicious afternoon tea.
The tea produces a dry, rather dark green liquor with quite a strong flavour that is often described as nutty or oaked. It is often fairly bitter. This can be refreshing, but the flavour is brought out and improved by adding a very small amount of sugar.
Gunpowder tea is good for your teeth, Chinese researchers have discovered! In fact, 3 cups of Gunpowder tea supplies an adult’s daily fluoride requirement.
