|Recipe Tag| How to make A Cup of Shai *takes a sip*

         

I like my tea. Need me a cuppa in the morning. Indian please, with the 'malaai' (tea-skin thing). And then milky English tea with the tea-bag left in the Mug-cup.

"Would ya like some tea with that milk?!" I've been asked :P 

I even have a personalised mug-cup I may show you one day! "Miss Sheikh" it says with dots. Ha! A dotty mug cup for a dotty girl :P SO. This is THE OFFICIAL RECIPE FOR....YOURS TRULY :D

To make a Cup of Shai.

You Will Need... *twirly hands movement* 

Ingredients:

A ladle full of Honesty. 

3 elements of Natural Goodness; 

A Squeeze of lemon for a citrus-y, refreshing taste.

4 tsp of Mint, 

(to help you feel fresh again)... 

...and seasoning: 

Sprinkles of dried ginger peelings and dried masala, (because we all need some spice in our life!) 

Finish off with 2 tsp of white sugar and a drizzle of honey. 

Stir in thoroughly because all the ingredients need sweetness throughout the Cup of Shai to ensure maximum quality, and not just at the end of the cup. 

How Many Cups of Shai should you have per day?

This depends on how you like your Shai but a good rule of thumb is:

1 phone call, some texts, a little country walk here and there and a little sprinkle of sugar. Shai likes to be handled with warmth and care. 

Shai is of such high quality that the same personali-Tea can be infused several times. Each time you brew the tea under pressure,different subtleties of the strong, yet delicate personality shall be released. And the Shai only gets stronger. 

It is essential that the Shai leaves are not left to stew. 

Straining Shai with hard work will make it go bland and tired. 
(Shai channels her energy into working SMART, not hard.) 

Temper-ature

*Calm and honeyed all the time. It takes ALOT of time for it to reach such high levels of boiling temper-ature. The quality of Shai is drained after this.  

The water is best freshly filtered and should not be re-boiled because this diminishes the oxygen content. 

For good leaf tea the water should be below boiling temper-ature.  This is because acids are released when above boiling temperature. (which produce the tea's flavour) dissolve at lower temperatures than tannin. Tea made with water at above 100°c will be more bitter and less sweet. 

Ideally stop the kettle before it reaches the rolling boil- when small bubbles form along the sides of the kettle. Alternatively the warm cup brewing method is an excellent way to cool the water (see below). Other ways to cool the Shai is a smile, banter, a small tight hug or something chocolate (edible kind). 

Teawear

In the 8th Century the celebrated poet Lu Yu wrote that in order to enjoy a really delicious cup of tea a porcelain cup should be used, preferably beside a lily pond in the company of desirable women or gentlemen.

However! The Shai prefers to be covered in delicate materials of the floral range to keep it warm. Other such Shai-wear regularly includes high heels, numerous accessories such as hand-chains, rings and bangles. Red lipstick, sparkly make-up and a warm jumper. Shai-wear likes to collect head scarves of various prints and colours. 

Not a Tea Cosy. A Shai-Cosy :P 

It is not recommended that you use tea-strainer at all with Shai tea. You will only feel the heat of the ginger and chilli in the Shai. 

Brewing Instructions

There are two easy methods to ensure perfect brewing:

1. Two tea pots method. The first tea pot is used to home and brew the Shai. Once the Shai has been steeped fully to reveal all the essences and lovely characteristics, it can be transferred into a second warmed pot to be fully appreciated. 

The Shai refuses to be transferred to a second pot if it won't be appreciated. 

So there you go, folks! I thought I'd "recipe-fy" myself. Why don't you have a go at doing this next time you tell someone what you think of them?

Till then, keeeeeeeeep drinking tea!! *slurps, sigh, British pinkie in the air* :) 

Some gorgeous feedback from the gorgeous staff at Lil's Parlour <3 <3 

                            

Oooh! Have you checked out my Lou Lou's Vintage fair blog post? If not, *click click* below.  

LouLou's Vintage Fair. Dorothy and Scarecrow get together. Finally.