Just letting you know that our Tea Tasting yesterday was a HUGE success. It turned out that your Blackberry and Orange Tea was so popular we couldn’t keep up making batches of it!

Thank you again for sending us your tea, it was a wonderful day.

Melissa Richards
Senior Library Assistant
Moreton Bay Libraries

Community and Cultural Services
Moreton Bay Regional Council
Caboolture District

John Milton

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; www.australianfruittea.com or your local woolworths store nationwide.

Be sure to watch out for NEW ….Australian Green tea based fruit teas …. coming soon.

The new teas are green tea flavoured with natural fruit flavours and oils which will be rolled out to stores in May.

Available in a range of six, the new flavours include: Grapefruit, Orange, Mandarin, Mango, Passionfruit and Peach.

The range was launched after Australian Fruit Tea Company found consumers loved drinking green teas due to its health benefits , but found green tea can not always be easy on the palate, according to Australian Fruit Tea Company Managing Director, Noelene Wilson.

When green tea is delicately flavoured with natural flavours and oils extracted from the skin of the fruit, it makes a world of difference to the taste. We will also have black tea based fruit teas ( tea bags) available from May 2009. Our black tea based fresh fruit teas are very European in style and we often have European customers tell us how good they are, Ms Wilson said.

The Australian Fruit Tea Company is a chemical-free manufacturing and wholesale tea company, which specialises in the manufacture of full leaf gourmet fresh fruit teas with a strong emphasis on fresh fruit tea with healthy natural flavourings.

Ms Wilson founded the company in 1994, after collaborating with a horticultural research company to create the perfect fruit tea.

The tea had to be the best quality, with the addition of real fruit and natural fruit flavouring which contain oils extracted from the fruits skin. In other words, it had to be a natural product and it had to be unique.

Our teas are free of artificial preservatives, colours, flavours and our natural flavours contain no propylene glycol or tiacetine, she said.

REMEMBER TO USE YOUR NATURAL PRODUCT QUICKLY ONCE OPENED.

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.