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ON THE BLEND continued from page 49 WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. At this point in the process, a seed of a blend is germinating. Gather all prospective ingredients and display them in small bowls. Arrange the order from light to dark, keeping similar items together (meaning green tea with green tea; citrus fruit with citrus fruit; and herbs with herbs). Taste all ingredients separately, and note their taste, smell and visual appeal, using personally meaningful words to describe the ingredients. I recommend pausing here and grabbing your notebook to: • Note the flavor intensity of each ingredient on a scale of 1-5. • Note the weight, volume, size and density of each ingredient. • Note the water temperature and steep time for each ingredient. • Note the cut/grade of ingredients. START BLENDING. Keep it simple and clean. Have the blending bowl ready, and begin with small amounts of desired ingredients. You can always increase the quantity of specific ingredients, but you cannot remove them once they enter the blend. Be sure to weigh and document each ingredient before adding it to the bowl. In time, layering can be achieved by carefully monitoring the selected ingredients' flavor intensities. By fine-tuning the ratios in the recipe, those with greater intensity will present themselves at the forefront, while those with less intensity—in the right mix—will be revealed in stages. STAY FOCUSED. Every ingredient must have a reason for being in the blend. With the exception of an ingredient such as cornflower that is added for visual purposes, the taste of each 50 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com ingredient should be discernible in varying intensities. A general rule of thumb for preparing tea is one teaspoon of tea per cup. We want the flavor in each cup to be consistent, so we want to find a cut, volume and density for each ingredient that will allow all ingredients to be equally represented in each teaspoon. The tea leaves or other base ingredient will need some time to get cozy with the new scents and flavors with which they now cohabitate. Return to the blend the next day to taste. It may be a winner, it may need tweaking or it may be relegated to the affectionately named "Frankenstein bin" for failed creations. LOOKING GOOD. Because tea is a full sensory experience, aesthetics are important. We all know that people are drawn to visuals and aroma prior to tasting. Don't underestimate the influence of color, texture and aroma when wooing an imbiber with a new blend.