Rooibos, Take Two

Last time we tried rooibos it was straight out of the tea tin. This time I gave it a good dose of both mortar and pestle to grind it up. Rooibos tea has some woody bits that didn't take well to pulverization, but for the most part it powdered well. A light coating on the bottom of the holder.

As expected, the flavour was more intense when using the powderized version. It still lent the espresso that smooth quality as it did before, not changing the taste of it but adding a few layers of complexity. The earthy taste built up, becoming quite strong in the bottom third of the shot, and lingering in the aftertaste. It hit me at the back of the throat, making my gullet tingle for a few moments. I love it when a drink toys with your senses like that!

The aftertaste kept moving around the palate, shimmering around my taste buds. Lisa, Brian's partner in crime, quite appropriately described the effect as dancing, and reported that it was particularly intense on the left side of her tongue. I didn't taste the vanilla much at all this time, but the complexity was still there so I didn't miss it much. This is a great shot of espresso! 

I still haven't found a place to try Red Espresso. Not even Rick knows where to find it in the city, and he knows everyone in Toronto's coffee world. The search continues.

Fenugreek Seeds & Rooibos

I use the leaves in some of my curry dishes, but hadn't realized there were seeds. When I saw them in the store, I had to pick some up. At first sniff, fenugreek seeds smelled like caramel. But when mortar met pestle, that sweet aroma turned grassy. More of the fresh cut than the fun kind. The smell is definitely something you'd find in a green curry dish, probably mixed with coconut milk.

When our standard amount was infused into espresso, it was completely undetectable in smell or in taste. At double the normal dose, it changed the coffee, but in a very subtle, minor way. Like a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan, but you're in Japan so no one really notices. Not worth pursuing as an infusion.

Fortunately, a representative from Nourishtea, Avi, was in the shop. We got to talking about our little espresso infusion experiment, mentioning that his peppermint tea was brutally bad. I always was good at first impressions. He suggested his rooibos tea variety as a possibility. The tea is actually an herb that grows on a bush in South Africa. Green leaves are harvested and oxidized, giving the tea its reddish colour. Avi thought the tea would lend an earthy, vanilla taste to the shot.

Just out of the tin, the loose leaf tea was not ground as fine as we are used to using for our infusions. A pinch on the bottom of the holder definitely made a nice drink. The resulting brew was very smooth. Almost as if it filled in all the usually sharp flavour peaks of the Steampunk espresso blend to produce a velvety profile. A touch of sugar made this effect more pronounced, but I preferred it without. Avi was right; vanilla was definitely present, but mostly lingering in the aftertaste. This herb is worth pursuing but definitely with it more finely ground.

Rooibos can actually be used to make an espresso drink known as Red Espresso. The rooibos is ground espresso fine and a shot is pulled using it instead of coffee. All the variations then follow: Red latte, red macchiato, red cappuccino, etc. I'd like to try this. Anyone know where I can get some in Toronto?