aGreatChef.com Blog – Food Blog of Chef Robert Conaway

Tea…I always think about tea when I’m not feeling well, and today is one of those days. It was a long week at the restaurant, writing menu’s and working on getting a new logo, the bar built and making sure that the ansul system is being installed properly. I did take the time to go to a Rational demonstration and got to sample some pretty great food. For those who are not in the know, a Rational oven is this crazy oven from Germany that can do 8 things at once…really. Check it out here. It does seem to take some of the fun out of cooking, if you ask me…Now back to the tea.

While I was living in Vietnam we had some guests at the resort that were from south Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh to be exact. After their group had finished dinner I was lucky enough to have some time to chat with them. It’s always interesting to meet diplomats oversees. After the 20 questions on how and why I ended up in central Vietnam we got to talking about tea. There are 2 teas that I really enjoy, Jasmine and Guava.

The Jasmine tea I would drink would have fresh Jasmine flowers in it, and was one of the best tasting teas I have ever had. The Guava tea was made with dried Guava leaves. While not as tasty at the fruit, it is still quite good. It also is quite good for you, in one study, Guava tea was found to help you fight the flu! More on that here.

While I was talking tea with the diplomats, someone at the table asked if I had ever had Saffron tea. I thought that they were out of their minds. Saffron tea, for what like 80 dollars a glass I thought to myself. The next day I had some of my cooks whip up a small batch and guess what….it was really good.

To make this tea you will not need a small fortune, nor will it break the bank. Spanish saffron (azafran) works really well and is a fraction of what true saffron costs. That’s my big, secret chef’s tip of the day. Wanna try to make Saffron tea? Here is what you’ll need;

Saffron tea (1 glass)

a pinch of saffron, maybe like 10 of those little red buggers

1 tablespoon sugar (less if you like)

1 cup simmering water

1. Place the saffron and the sugar in to a coffee mug or tea cup and pour the hot water over the ingredients.
2. Steep for 5 minutes.
3. Stir and enjoy!

Hard huh. Sometimes the easiest things are the most enjoyable, and this certainly rings true with this recipe. So sit back, reserve a few minutes for yourself and enjoy a nice cup of Saffon tea.

chefRob