.....Sweet Teeth: Youthberry Sorbet & A Special Guest Post

Until recently I wasn't a coffee drinker, but I indulged in my share of fine tea. Several years ago I stumbled upon a lovely place called Teavana which sells, among other things, delightful loose-leaf tea.

They get me at the door with these huge tankards of brewed tea to sample. Sometimes hot, sometimes iced. They even blow your mind by mixing two or three different teas to make a unique blend. You know. Just to show you that if you buy more flavors you can get yourself tea crazy.

I've really taken to this blend they introduced me to: Youthberry White Tea + Wild Orange Blossom Herbal. It's delicate and sweet enough that I really don't add anything to it. The fruit is so forward and balanced that it has a juice quality without any sugar whatsoever.

A spot of tea?

I've been drinking copious amounts. So today I said to myself, "Self, how else can more of this magic potion be consumed?"

Guess what. My self answered!

I had a flashback to a really good Riesling Sorbet I had made one summer. A delicate sweet wine paired with this floral and fruity tea?

Not today.

All we had was some Bordeaux that's aging and some Cloudline pinot noir that I'm saving for a vertical tasting. But I did find a bottle of sparkling grape juice. That was enough to spook the horses.

Tea? Meet grape juice. Get it on!

I put the whole bottle of juice into a large saucepan and heated to boiling. All that carbonation made a beautiful pink foam that rose higher and higher in the pan, causing me not to get a good picture of it for fear of boilover. It did not boil over, but once the foam had disappeared, I took the juice off the heat and added in 1/4 cup of the Youthberry/Orange loose leaf mix. Popped the lid on and steeped for 20 minutes.

Once the steeping period was over, I strained the pot through a fine strainer into a glass bowl and covered it. I know from lots of experience that you have to chill the liquid down well before trying to use the ice cream machine. If you don't you get this crystally grainy mess that no one could even call granita.

I didn't wait till the liquid got to the 40 degrees I knew would make quick work. I dared and tried 55 degrees - into the machine. It took a while but it did come up to full slush consistency, probably about 20 minutes. I know that if the mix was more chilled going in, it would have been firmer. But, this can also be achieved by transferring the mix into a container and popping it into the freezer for an overnight nap.

I couldn't make you wait that long. I could not wait that long.

My dear Tea, you're blushing!


Anyone seen my spoon?


How cute would this be at a summer ladies luncheon?

Overall I really like the way this turned out. It's sort of "Grape Popsicle Meets Grownup". I will attempt this again once I have a nice white wine on hand. When I do, I'll let you know how it goes. Until then,