AFTERNOON TEA

A Summer Tea Menu

Summer is a lovely time to give a small tea party with family and friends. Pick a bouquet from your flower gardens for your centerpiece. If you have a vegetable garden, send some of your harvest home with your guests along with a small bouquet. The cherry recipes use dried cherries, but if you have fresh cherries (and they are plentiful in Australia at this time of year) be sure to place some in a pretty bowl for guests.

Herbed Quiche Appetizer

Ingredients:
10 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 pound Swiss cheese, grated
1 can sliced mushrooms (8 oz.)
1/2 cup butter — melted
1 tablespoon minced herbs—oregano, parsley, minced
garlic, basil, chives, chervil, etc.
salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, beat eggs, cottage cheese, flour, baking powder and seasoned salt. Stir in cheese, mushrooms, butter, salt, pepper and the herbs. Pour into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish. Bake uncovered 15 minutes at 400 degrees . Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-40 minutes. Cut into bite-size squares. Serve hot or cold.

Mini Onion Tarts

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup butter cracker crumbs
1/3 cups butter
2 cup chopped sweet onion
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. minced fresh parsley

Combine crumbs and two-thirds of the butter in a bowl and mix well. Press the mixture on the bottom and up the sides of mini muffin tins. Heat remaining butter in a skillet, over medium heat, add onions and sauté for 10-12 minutes, until tender and just beginning to caramelize. Divide onions among muffin cups. Now combine milk, eggs, and salt and whisk well. Pour over the onions into muffin cups. Divide the grated cheese between muffin cups and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and gently remove from muffin tin. Garnish with minced parsley and serve warm.

Cherry Scones

Ingredients:
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup Half and Half — plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon almond extract

Soak cherries in hot water for 10 minutes and then drain and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, sour cream, cream and extract. Add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Mix in the cherries and then knead the dough lightly on a floured surface just until dough can be handled. Shape dough into a ball and pat into a 6-inch circle on a greased baking sheet. Cut into six wedges and brush with beaten egg white and then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cherry Cheese Spread

Ingredients:
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup water
2- 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

In a small heavy pan simmer the dried cherries in water until water is reduced to about a tablespoon. Remove pan from the heat and cool. In a medium sized bowl, beat the remaining ingredients together with the cherries and water once they have cooled. Serve with scones or crackers.

Cherry Tea - Australian Xmas Tea is full of cherries - Available on line only

Ingredients:
6 cups water
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
4 tsp Australian Fruit Tea (any flavour but particularly good with Raspberry and Strawberry)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Boil the water, remove from heat and add your tea. Brew for 1 minute and strain leaves away. (You must remove the leaves or the tea will overtake the delicate fruit flavour). Pour into a teapot with the juices. Serve in cups warm, or over ice. This is easily doubled.

Enjoy your summer with Australian Fruit Tea.

Lemon Balm Punch - Try this on its own or over Australian Fruit Tea Lemon/Kiwifruit
Serve this easy and economical
party beverage with floating
slices of fresh lemon in the punch
bowl or a slice or two of
crystallized ginger in each glass.
2 Tbsp. lemongrass
2 Tbsp. lemon balm leaf
2 cups water
1 Tbsp. honey
2 cups natural ginger ale
lemon slices (optional)
1 Tbsp. crystallized
ginger, sliced (optional)
Make sun tea with lemongrass,
lemon balm leaf, and water.
Strain and add honey and
ginger ale.

Citrus Hibiscus - on its own or add to any Australian Fruit Tea - really nice with Australian Fruit Tea Blackberry/Orange and Australian Fruit Tea Raspberry.

This colorful beverage brings a vacation on the beach to mind - perfect for summer.
1 tsp. peppermint 2 cups water
1 tsp. rosehips 1 cup orange juice
1 tsp. orange peel 1 cup cold sparkling water
2 tsp. hibiscus 2 Tbsp. honey (or to taste)
2 tsp. lemongrass
Steep peppermint, rosehips, orange peel, hibiscus, and lemongrass in the two cups of water. Strain. Add orange juice and refrigerate. When ready to serve, pour over ice cubes and add a splash of sparkling water to each glass. Sweeten if desired.
Lavender Lemon Honey or your favourite honey (mine is manuka)
Use this sweetener in tea, or as a glaze on plain pound cakes, angel food cakes, honey cookies, biscotti, or scones for herbal tea time.
4 Tbsp. lavender flowers
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
Crush the lavender flowers in your hand as you place them in a bowl. Combine with honey and lemon juice.

Combine herbs for interesting combinations with your Australian Fruit Tea. Good - - options include: chamomile or alfalfa and mint; lemon herbs (like lemon verbena, lemongrass, lemon balm) and mints; sage and lemon herbs; peppermint and elder flowers; hibiscus and lemon verbena (one of my favourites with Australian Fruit Tea Blackberry & Orange) or rosehips; alfalfa and mint; clover and spearmint; licorice root or spearmint and rosemary.
Other good combos include any Australian Fruit Tea and your favourite fruit juice ie apple juice; - raspberry tea and orange juice; and lStrawberry tea with avender and mint and grape juice.
Use iced teas to boost your immunity or address health - issues. Sipping iced teas throughout the day is a great way to reap the most health benefits from the herbs.
Include spices in your teas for added depth. Cinnamon, - cloves, cardamom, allspice, and ginger are good bets.
Citrus enlivens almost any iced tea. Use fresh lemon or - lime juice, slices, or peels, and/or granulated lemon.
Chill your serving glasses ahead of time, and prop a piece of - fruit (a strawberry, lime, orange, or lemon slice) on the edge.
Add frozen fruit to your drink. Whole strawberries, - raspberries, or blueberries are fun.
Add edible flowers (organic violets, nasturtiums, rose petals, - and scented geraniums, for example) to your ice cubes.
Of course, all teas are delicious iced! (You may want to pour any leftover warm tea into a pitcher in the refrigerator
to serve iced another time.)
To dissolve your sweetener, you can make a syrup by - cooking the honey (please - not sugar) in a bit of water (or juice) and stirring for a minute or two. Then add the syrup directly to the batch of summer tea, once brewed.
Serve herbal iced teas with complimentary treats,
- like lavender cakes or cardamom scones, anise cookies
or gingersnaps.
Have lots of fun this summer and keep safe and make lots of time to love your family and friends over a cup of Australian Fruit Tea.

Making a pitcher of excellent iced tea is easy thanks to superb whole-leaf tea by Australian Fruit Tea Company based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Place 3 heaped teaspoons of your favourite Australian Fruit Tea in a pitcher, add a pint of just-boiled water, follow up with a pint of cold water, and you have a quart of tea to pour over ice. Flavour and decorate with raspberries and hibiscus flowers, orange slices and blackberries any citrus fruit edible flowers, black tea is always fresh with a little mint as well. Healthy and good for you. You can buy on line now or at any Woolworths store nationwide.

Keep your teacup and your cupboards filled. Shop on-line for your favourite flavours and discover new ones that may pique your curiosity. Each and every one of them, Australian Fruit Tea Company has a range of classic black teas - black tea based flavoured with the essential oils from the skin of the fruit providing a hint of your favourite fruit to the best quality leaf tea grown without herbicides and pesticides. You can buy them on line at www.australianfruittea.com.au or your local woolworths store nationwide.

Phenols in tea are responsible for its antioxidant activity. The pure catechins and phenolic acids found in tea are more powerful than the antioxidant vitamins C, E and β-carotene in an in vitro lipoprotein oxidation model. Comparison of the tea fractions indicated that both catechins and theaflavins contribute to the teas’ antioxidant characteristics. Black and green teas were not significantly different in phenol content, in antioxidant strength as measured by IC50, or in antioxidant potential as measured by the phenol antioxidant index (PAOXI). The PAOXI of teas was significantly higher than grape juices and wines. Tea catechins and both green and black tea exhibited potent lipoprotein-bound antioxidant activity. Phenol antioxidants from tea were calculated to be a large source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet.

Australian Fruit Tea Company presents the best fruit tea I have ever tasted from our Executive Chef Tania Luggan. My favourites are the citrus flavours they are just superb!

Be prompt in arriving so your host can begin on time.
Remove your shoes when entering a Japanese home — the host will provide slippers to wear.
Drink the entire portion of tea (it will not be large) and eat everything served.
Turn the tea bowl slightly to avoid drinking tea from the front side.
Smoking is generally prohibited in the tea room.
Each implement used in a tea gathering (including scroll, flowers, and food) has been thoughtfully selected by your host and has special meaning. They should be treated as objects of appreciation. Admire them and compliment your host with sincerity. This is the most important responsibility of a guest.
After two or three days, call or write a note of thanks to express your appreciation. This is known as korei or “thanking afterwards.”