make us
China Green Tea from Dragonfly Tea £1.69 for 25 bags Green tea is made from fully-grown but non-fermented tea leaves, and there's a vast range of different styles. This one is mild and inoffensive, combining a subtle grassiness with a smooth, refreshing taste. Fans talk up the lower caffeine and higher anti-oxidant properties. Limit the brewing time to three or four minutes to avoid any bitterness. COCO
on 'lfi‘ .nu‘c proper oranm
Q3; Verbal mate
Yerba Maté from Mr Scruff’s Make Us a Brew Tea Company £1.99 for 25 bags, www.makeusabrew.com
This one is made from the dried.
fermented leaves of a holly tree native
to South America. The brewed colour
is greener than green tea but the taste
is refreshing and comforting with the very faintest hint of Christmas holly. It
does contain caffeine, but is regarded
as a jitter-free alternative to coffee in South America. coco
12 THE LIST 2—16 Oct 2008
Happiness Tea from Today w,
Was Fun £4.99 for 609. For Edinburgh stockists, see www.todaywas fun.com
There's something engaging about the way this range of teas is packaged and marketed. It's a well- judged cocktail of rosemary, hibiscus flowers and cardamon that slowly turns the water deep pink. There’s a bit of Sunday roast on the nose but an amazing two-layered taste. ooooo
Rose Tea
Rose Tea from Brewhaha
a Glasgow company soon to open a
shop in Buchanan Galleries, www.
brewhaha.ltd.com, £1.99 for 25 bags
Teas have a distinctive capacity to
divide into love or loathe camps: think
earl grey or red bush. Rose tea is a
case in point. Sri Lankan black tea with
a natural rose petal flavour through it, it's actually less perfumey than the candy pink retro packaging suggests. with the floral sweetness only coming through on the aftertaste. coo
FOODFOR“
Michael Caines
Chef and entrepreneur
"1 "NM uaqz GUM
t. i
Yunnan from Mnings Light Classics range
£1.99 for 50 bags
Strictly a black tea, in that it’s made from fermented leaves, the colour is
actually a light bronze and this is really
one to be drunk without milk. It has a slightly smoky, faintly nutty smell — though nothing like as strong as lapsang souchong — but lacks the clean taste of a green or white tea. Overall, rather lacking in character. 0.
White Tea from Tea Tree Tea 13 Bread Street, Edinburgh £5 for 509 (10-12 small pots)
White tea leaves are harvested before
the leaves are fully open. while the
buds are still covered by fine white hair.
Sold loose, the tiny scrolled leaves of ying zhen look like dried pine needles
and the brewed colour is very pale. The
wet-animal smell isn’t particularly appealing, though the clean, fresh, non-bitter taste is quite seductive. coo
In the food trade we eat in a strange way. I don't know any chef who's a good eater when it comes to the discipline of eating: your work time is people's mealtimeThe biggest problem is that because you don't remember sitting down to have a meal you don't think that you've eaten. I now try to have breakfast. generally orange juice and a plate of fruit with yoghurt, if I can, or a bowl of cereal. I will always grab some apples with me now so that during the day if I've got the temptation to snack I just crunch on an apple. When I started doing this it was sparked by the film 300; Leonidas was chomping on his apple and I thought, crikey, there's a six-pack and there‘s a good idea. At lunch I try and have a salad or a sandwich, and take the time to sit down and eat it. I only do carbs up to about 3 o'clock; after that I generally try to stay off them. At work, it you haven’t got the discipline to eat before service at 5.30 or 6pm, then the big problem is that when you finish work at 1 1pm, you get home, have a glass of wine or a beer, and you suddenly think. what's in the fridge?
I ABode Glasgow will be hosting a Perrier Jouet Champagne Dinner with Michael Caines on Wednesday 22 October: go to www.3bodehote/s.co.uk or
ring 0741572 6007
News to nibble on
I LIVIII'S l8 Till latest opening from Thai Lemongrass and Time 4 Thai operator Carole Tong, offering what’s described as ‘Thai Fusion Cuisine’ in a highly designed setting boasting moody purple lighting, sparkly wall paper and sleek wood. The menu is fairly unconventional, incorporating Italian, Scottish and Asian elements: there’s massaman curry served with mashed potato, a chicken curry lasagne and cod in prawn lemongrass sauce. It’s at 30-32 Leven Street, 0131 229 8988.
I BRANDON TERRACE in the Canonmills area of Edinburgh has a bright new coffee shop, Coffee Angels. Independent and locally owned, it has many of the slick elements of a chain with smart decor, striking branding and a classy line up of drinks and snacks. In addition to organic. fair trade coffee they’re making sandwiches daily in the downstairs kitchen and sourcing cakes and teas from small, specialist suppliers. There's space to sit, free wi-fi and room (and food) for kids. Coffee Angels have also taken over the cafe in the basement of auction rooms Lyon & Turnbull on Broughton Place. www.coffeeangelcouk
J v 1,-"4" , ‘4 V i ‘ fit it 3‘ I A COUPLE or m delis to report in Glasgow. At 25 Hillfoot Street in Dennistoun, Nutmeg is a small, friendly deli-cafe run by Gillian McGarvey featuring takeaway meals and snacks freshly cooked and prepared on site. At 691 Great Western Road, meanwhile, a block up from Oran Mor, new ‘continental grocer’ La Cucina (pictured) is also cooking an impressive array of takeaway food on site as well as stocking a large range of specialist Italian,
2—16 Oct 2008 THE LIST 12
For more food and drink visit www.list.co.uk/food