Posted by There are so many ways of including tea into our diet, and actually, drinking is just one of them. Tea is used in desserts, mocktails to cook proteins or just smoke them, the list is endless. I used dried hibiscus blooms and green tea to create a granita. The tea used is organic Assam green tea.
Ancient Chinese believe tea to have medicinal properties which have been proved by modern science. Green tea has antioxidants, vitamins, and trace minerals. People trying to lose weight ( like me) benefit from drinking green tea as it induces weight loss. it helps to lower the cholesterol and keep blood pressure under the check. It has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and skin-soothing properties. Green tea is made from the same tea leaves and a bud plucked from the same tea plant. Yet why the difference in taste, smell and health benefits? The reason lies in its processing or shall we say minimal processing. Unlike black tea, green tea is prevented from getting oxidized. This helps in retaining their natural color as chlorophyll remains intact in the leaves. Fresh green tea leaves after being plucked are steamed/boiled or pan-fried and then rolled and dried. Green tea is relatively new to me as I grew up on just black tea. Green tea is very popular in China and Japan. Chinese green tea was initially steamed but now it is mostly pan-fried. Japanese green tea is mostly produced by steaming. Among all the green tea varieties produced by Japan. ‘Matcha’ has recently grown in its popularity.
However, I still prefer loose organic green tea leaves from Assam. I love to see them unfurl in warm water. Hope you like my take on green tea. Granita is an Italian semi-frozen dessert made by hand. So, the texture is coarse and flaky. Made with simple ingredients it just requires a little patience and care. It somehow reminds me of shaved ice or ‘chuski’ found in India. A perfect treat for the summers. Stay tuned on this page for more to come on Tea.
Hibiscus and green tea granita
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Freezing Time: 5-6 hours
Yield: serves 8-10
Ingredients
Water 1 lt
Sugar 60 gms
Dried hibiscus flowers 20 gms
Green tea leaves 1 1/2 tsp
Coconut Cream 400 gms (1 can)
Method
- Bring 400 ml of water to boil and then turn off the heat. Add the dried hibiscus flowers.
- After 10 mins add the green tea leaves and cover
- Let it brew for a minute or so and strain the liquid
- Add sugar and make the volume to around 600 ml with normal water (this helps in cooling)
- Chill in the freezer covered with a cling
- After every 30 minutes take it out and using a fork scrape the surface and beyond
Repeat the process to get crushed ice. - Serve in chilled glasses with layered coconut cream.
Magic Ingredient 