Cofftea said 2010-10-13 12:43:44 -0400

Middle Eastern and Tea pairing

I LOVE both hummus (red pepper is best in my book) and baba ganoush… does anyone have a suggestion for what tea I should pair w/ them?

17 Replies

JacquelineM said 2010-10-13 12:51:37 -0400

I found this page on about.com full of Middle Eastern teas to make:

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/drinkscoffeetea/Middle_Eastern_Drinks_Coffee_and_Tea.htm

I gravitate towards the mint, but they all sound interesting!

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 13:20:21 -0400

I’m really looking for something already blended I can just put in my ingenuiTEA, but they do sound good:)

VegTea said 2010-10-13 13:36:47 -0400

Try just mixing dried mint (I use spearmint) and black tea. I’m pretty sure this is what a local middle eastern restaurant serves, and it is delicious.

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 13:42:28 -0400

Better than that I think I have a mint black from Zoomdweebie’s already blended:)

Shinobi_cha said 2010-10-13 13:39:36 -0400

They might use black tea, or more likely, they use gunpowder green tea; it is a super cheap green tea mass-produced in China and exported to arab countries. It goes really well as a base with (fresh) mint.

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 13:41:47 -0400

LOL yeah Moroccan Mint definitely makes sense. Not sure how the mint would have paired though.

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 13:45:12 -0400

I ended up going w/ RoT’s Mango Chili Green Bush. It went pretty well. Erin just logged 52teas’ Cucumber Melon (which again, I say, has GOT to come back)- I bet that would have been good!

ssajami said 2010-10-13 16:37:33 -0400

One of the most popular teas here in the Middle East is FRESH spear mint leaves, with or without black tea. Lots of sugar. Sage tea is great too, but does not go as well with the hummus.

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 16:50:31 -0400

No sugar for me. Sage tea really has me interested. I need some:)

ssajami said 2010-10-15 00:58:27 -0400

Yeah, I don’t drink it with sugar either. I am, however, the odd-ball here in a country where this tea is routinely served with too much sugar.
As for sage, it is a very soothing tea. If you can find fresh sage, that is best, but dried is ok too.
The bedouins (desert nomads) have a chai-like tea that is black based and blended with sage and cardamom / other spices.

Cofftea said 2010-10-15 01:25:59 -0400

Sage chai… hmmm…

Mel said 2010-10-15 14:23:07 -0400

TeaGschwender has Sweet Tooth with sage mixed with different kinds of mints. It’s very tasty, naturally sweet. On the note of Middle Eastern teas, there was a store I went to and they sold lots of different mint teas. I think a tea with pomegranate might be tasty, I think I saw that sold at a Persian store.

LauraR said 2010-10-13 18:58:50 -0400

I am thinking something a little smoky like a Bohea would be good..

Cofftea said 2010-10-13 19:19:51 -0400

There’s already a lot of smoke in the hummus so that may be over doing it since I don’t typically like smokey teas… hmmm… but… Manteas Maple Bacon? Beer tea?

Cofftea said 2010-10-15 14:26:58 -0400

I’ve been pairing it w/ RoT’s green bush blends. While not authentic middle eastern, it worked well!

mbanu said 2010-12-25 21:31:23 -0500

Sri Lankan black orthodox with sugar, served in a small handle-less glass cup held by the rim. :)

Cofftea said 2010-12-25 23:56:51 -0500

Again I don’t do sugar but “served in a small handle-less glass cup held by the rim. :)” made me laugh… you’re even more exact w/ your serving than me lol:)