Ingredients
Pacific Northwest peppermint leaves, cacao nibs, Shu cha pu-erh, orange peel and natural chocolate flavor.
Blend Numerology
No. 95: The year Chef Vitaly Paley, for which this blend was originally made, opened his first Portland restaurant – Paley’s Place.
Preparation
Bring spring or freshly drawn filtered water to a boil and steep for five minutes. Use one sachet or one heaping teaspoon of tea per 8-10 ounces of water.
- Select an Ingredient:
- cacao nibs
- orange peel
- Peppermint Leaves
- pu-erh
Cacao Nibs
Dominican Botanical
Cacao nibs come from the Theobroma cacao tree and are one of the main raw ingredients used for making chocolate. Whole cacao beans are shelled, fermented and then broken down into chopped bits of cocoa seeds. These nibs then go through an additional roasting step, resulting in a more flavorful and less bitter tasting cacao nib.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Hispanolia in the Carribean, sharing its border with Haiti. While cacao, coffee and sugar combined to make up most of the country's economy thirty years ago, cacao now accounts for just 3% of the country's GDP. We source our cacao nibs during the main harvest between the months of April and July.
Orange Peel
Citrus Fruit
Dried orange peel is a by-product of the most commonly grown fruit in the world. It has long been coveted in cooking and natural medicine for its bright flavor and health properties. When used in a tea application, dried orange peel adds body and subtle citrus notes that often bring balance to blends.
Turkey
Turkey has a unique geographic location straddling Southwestern Asia and Southeastern Europe with deep cultural connections to ancient Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. It has long been a bridge between the Europe and Asia, making it a country of diverse cultures, beautiful natural landscape, devout tea drinkers and the most beautiful rugs in the world. Turkey happens to have the highest consumption of tea per capita. Rich in natural vegetation, historians date agriculturalism back to Turkey around 11,000 BC. Turkey is one of the world’s top fruit producers. Its regional differences in climate and soil type provide an optimum environment for fruit cultivation especially fruits such as pears, oranges and grapes.
Peppermint Leaves
Pacific Northwest Botanical
The world’s most flavorful peppermint comes from the Pacific Northwest, where the summers are hot and dry. Ours is harvested just before it begins to flower, when the oil content is highest. After cutting, the plant is allowed to field dry. Then the stems are removed and the mint is sorted into uniform leaf sizes. With intense menthol and rich chocolate notes, Pacific Northwest peppermint is a real wakeup for your senses.
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region along the West Coast of the U.S., consisting of the states of Oregon and Washington. The Cascade Mountain Range, which cuts through the region from north to south, acts as distinct divider of landscape and climate, with the west side receiving ample rain, creating a lush evergreen environment, while the east remains arid, creating a high desert environment. While Peppermint has historically been grown on both sides, it is now primarily grown east of the Cascades and harvested in the summer.
Pu-erh
Chinese Pu-erh Tea
A highly prized Chinese Pu-erh tea, this full-leaf fermented black tea is aged for 3 years. Grown at around 5,000 ft elevation in Feng Cheng, Yunnan, China, this tea produces a dark liquor with smooth and complex earthy flavor and sweet lingering finish.
Yunnan Province
Yunnan which translates to "South Cloud", is a province jammed into the South Western most part of China. Not only does it share international borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, but there is a constant cultural exchange in these border regions, which is distinct from the rest of mainland China. Tea was first cultivated in this region thousands of years ago and it still produces some pretty amazing teas.
