Boil your Rooibos! Boil your red tea!

Red Tea.  Or not a tea at all?

Tisane? Or not herbal?

Rooibos (pronounced Roy-boss) has been enjoyed for centuries by indigenous peoples of South Africa. Rooibos is a broom-like plant of the legume family growing in South Africa. The generic name comes from the plant Calicotome villosa, aspalathos in Greek (scientific name is Aspalathus linearis). This plant has very similar growth and flowers to the redbush.

Rooibos teas can be herbal infusions made from a South African red bush and other ingredients like ginger, blueberry, mint, chocolate, chai, and on and on. Rooibos by itself is sometimes called "red tea." There are also green Rooibos teas that are just as delicious as the popular red teas but much harder to find on the regular market.

Now for the part that will set your sensibilities alight – boil the rooibos! Yes, boil! If you have had rooibos in the past and you “just couldn’t get over the taste” then you obviously made it like tea (you know, that Camellia Sinensis leaf). If you boil tea, it turns bitter. We all know that. But rooibos is not tea.

Try this. Take rooibos and brew it like tea. Steep it for about 3 to 4 minutes. At the same time, take some of the rooibos and add it to boiling water and boil hard for about 2 minutes. Strain.

Taste both. You may find you like the boiled rooibos much MUCH better.

Now grab a good book, turn your mobile device off for an hour and enjoy your boiled rooibos!

Goji Berries and Gunpowder - all in time for the 4th Celebrations

Fancy That has added four new loose teas to our collection bringing the total to 12 choices of loose tea sold in 1/2 ounce tins so you can sample the tea without being married to 4 ounces (especially if it is a flavour you care not to enjoy again!). The four new additions include goji berry (more about that flavour in a minute), Irish Morning, Cherry Vanilla and Sweet Sin.

Lets start with Sweet Sin! A Rooibos flavoured blend, this tea also has raspberries, real Bourbon vanilla crowns, and rose petals to make for a great basket of tasty, ripe fruits in your cup.

Now, along with the Vanilla line of thought, is Cherry Vanilla. A fruit tea blend, this tea captures your eye instantly with its color nuances of rose petals, cherry pieces, elderberries, beetroot pieces, and vanilla pieces. The taste of freshly picked cherries add to the bouquet of vanilla and other fruits for a mellow, creamy cup of tea.

Creamy? Try Irish Morning. This extraordinary blend of strong black tea with an intense lacing of rum flavour pep you up! A hint of soft, sweet cream flavour, white coconut shreds, green wild strawberry leaves and orange-red safflower make the color combination of this tea reminiscent of the Irish national flag...and the taste is a perfect taste for the early riser, or one who rises just in time for elevenses.

Our fourth flavour added is just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations here in the USA. This black and green tea blend is decorated with shining goji berries (pronounced go-gee) and golden rose buds. "Gun Salutes" of Gunpowder (tea that is rolled into little pellets like gunpowder - there is no actual gunpowder in this tea :)) and the flavour combos of the goji berry, pomegranate and orange make this tea a fireworks of taste.

Stop by our Shoppe to get our new flavour tea Fridays from 11am - 3pm, Saturday or Sunday from noon to 5pm. If you don't live locally but would like to try these or other tea flavours, we can ship them to you anywhere in the Continental USA. (and yes! we take PayPal!). Call toll free 1-888-323-2TEA to place your order. Thanks for stopping by! We hope to see you again soon. And Happy 4th of July - Independence Day!

Love Affair Rooibos Tea is back in stock - tastes like chocolate covered strawberries

Love Affair is back in stock! One of our favorite teas sold out during our recent open house celebration. We are pleased to announce that the Rooibos Tea that tastes like a chocolate covered strawberry, is back in stock! A creamy, sweet combination of heavenly chocolate, dried strawberry tart and irresistible rhubarb accented with red sugar hearts all go into making this tea one of the favorite of Fancy That and customers alike!

Stop by this Friday (11am – 3pm) or Saturday (noon to 5pm) and pick up a tin or two of Love Affair!

(If you would like your own ½ ounce tin that makes about 5 cups of tea for $2, and you cannot get into the store, contact us. We can ship anywhere in the Continental USA.)

Love Affair Tea is back in stock!

A few of our Favorite Flavoured Loose-Leaf Teas

We are thrilled how well our loose-leaf flavoured teas sold during our open house. We thought we would share a little description of the teas we are high-lighting this month (selections will be changing so you'll ahve to check back from time to time to see what our teas are for the month).

Cranberry Rose - (Green Tea Blend): Cranberry slices flattered by tender, sweet raspberry pieces and delicate rose buds in a Sencha base.

Earl Grey Cream - (Black Tea): A perfect, full-bodies aromatic black tea with a slightly creamy flavour.

Cocoa Orange - (Herbal Tea Blend): The sweetness of Orange, a hint of cocoa and a kick of lemon grass in combination with apples.

Love Affiar - (Rooibos Tea Blend): A creamy, sweet combination of heavenly chocolate, strawberry tart and irresistable rhubarb accented with red sugar hearts. (Temporarily sold out! We expect more in about a week!)

Enchanted Forest (Green Tea Blend): A blend of mellow Sencha and spicy, green mate offer a tempting aroma of Black Forect Cherry cake refined with a little sweetness.

Blueberry Yogurt (Rooibos Tea Blend): Combination of fruity, fresh blueberry taste with a little creamy yogurt.

Sunny Passion (Green/White Tea Blend): A blend of attractive Pai Mu Tan and Lung Ching provide for an oveall delicate note. Visually stunning with the addition of rosebuds, pinapple, mango and jucy pear.....cleary our very favorite!

Tiramisu (Rooibos Tea Blend): A light Irish coffee taste complemented by a hint of sweet caramel pieces with a dash of Mascarpone.

Stop by and pick up your tin (1/2 ounce sampler size). Fridays from 11am - 3pm, Saturdays and Sundays from noon - 5pm. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Time for Tea - Yields and Brewing Instructions

When purchasing tea, remember once ounce of dry leaf will give you approximately 8 – 10 cups of tea. The average serving uses one rounded teaspoon, or two grams of tea per 8 ounces of water (which is 0.1666 ounces of tea per 8 ounces of water). A dainty tea cup holds about four ounces of liquid. A coffee-cup-size holds about 6 to 7 ounces and a mug holds about 8 – 12 ounces of liquid.

Fancy That’s loose teas will be sold in one 1/2 ounce “sample sizes”.
1/2 ounce will yield approximately 4 - 5 cups
3 ounces will yield approximately 24 – 30 cups

Brewing instructions are simple:

Black Tea: Pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most if its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting), steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), pour into your cup. When you are making a pot of tea you will see the tea leaves uncurl and expand dramatically. This uncurling and expansion is called ‘the agony of the leaf’.

Green Tea: best enjoyed when brewed with spring water that is below the boiling point. Hot boiling water will make the tea into a very bitter brew. Try to use water that is between 175-180°F ….hot but not rapid boiling. Steep for 2-3 minutes and remove the tea leaves. Green Tea can become bitter quickly. Multiple infusions of the same Green Tea leaves (to make two or three cups of tea) allow for the best flavor and fragrance.

Rooibos or Herbal Tea: Measure the desired amount of tea leaves and place into a teapot or teacup. Use 1 tsp or 2.3g of tea leaves for every 8oz (1 cup) of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil Add enough hot water to submerse the tea leaves and let it sit for a few seconds before pouring out the water. Warming the tea leaves and teaware allow for a better brew. Add boiling water and let the tea leaves steep for 3 to 5 minutes.

Iced Tea of any type: use double the amount of tea and brew according to the instructions for the flavour of tea. Remove the tea leaves when the time for steeping has expired and chill the tea. Sweeten to taste. (For some fun, take a glass jar, add the amount of tea (double the amount that you would use for hot tea), place it and tepid water in the jar and set it in the sunlight for several hours, shaking the jar about every 15 minutes. Taste-test the sun-brewed tea until the desired taste is achieved…usually about three hours in the sunlight.)

There you have it! A simple guide on yields and brewing instructions!

Enjoy!