Brew boss (+recipes)

Paul Jobin. Photo / Supplied.

The manwho bellowed "You're fired" on TV's The Apprentice, businessman Donald Trump, has boldly launched a gourmet tea line bearing his name - even though there's a worldwide decline in drinking hot tea and a rise in popularity of ready-to-drink cold fruit teas.

Trump's range is a partnership with Talbott Teas and includes four varieties of loose-leaf pyramid tea sachets in keepsake tins.

With the marketed health benefits of tea and the move away from soda drinks, ready-to-drink fruit teas are becoming very popular and I often mix an alcoholic tea punch for weddings.

This Tijuana tea punch contains two cups of tequila, two cups of camomile tea, cup liquid honey, 1 cup of apple juice, cup of sparkling mineral water, cup each of lime and lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of anise powder and 2 tablespoons of bitters. Very refreshing.

Tea is a cured preparation from at least five common varieties using the leaves, leaf buds and internodes. Herbal tea refers to an infusion (tisane) of plant matter that does not include the Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. Instead, herbal teas contain fruit, flowers, leaves, herbs and spices. Red tea is an infusion made from Asian black teas or the South African rooibos plant.

When boiling the kettle for tea, black tea and herbal teas can be made straight away. Even then it's best to let the water just come off the rapid boil before you pour, to avoid scalding the leaves, which can leave a bitter taste. Green, white or other teas should be made with water at a cooler temperature range of 70C to 85C, again to prevent the leaves being scorched.

As an apprentice in a Japanese restaurant, my duty was always to fill the kyusu (tea pot) with gyokuro green tea, specially grown in the shade before harvesting to achieve a distinctive aroma.

Our confections (wagadashi) were often flavoured with matcha, powered green tea. I have also coloured pasta dough with it to make green noodles and used it in an addictive green tea creme brulee.