Sikkim Organic Cardamom Tea Spiced Sikkimese Hill Garden

Ingredients

• 2 tsp Sikkim organic tea leaves (Sikkim is India's only fully organic state; Temi Tea Garden produces award-winning first-flush teas; substitute with any good quality Darjeeling tea)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole milk (optional)
• 2 green cardamom pods — lightly cracked
• 1 tsp sugar or honey — to taste

Method

1. Bring 1 cup water to a full rolling boil in a small pot.
2. Add the lightly cracked cardamom pods. Boil 1 minute to release the cardamom aroma.
3. Add the Sikkim organic tea leaves. Reduce to medium.
4. Steep for exactly 3 minutes — Sikkim teas are delicate and over-steeping creates bitterness.
5. If adding milk: add milk and bring back to just below a boil.
6. Do not boil aggressively after adding milk.
7. Strain through a fine sieve into a cup.
8. Add sugar or honey to taste.
9. The cardamom should be fragrant and warming without overpowering the delicate floral-muscatel character of the Sikkim tea.