“Great love affairs start with champagne and end with tisane.”
– Honore de Balzac
When I was in New York City several months ago, I had the opportunity to sample the best (in my opinion) tisane that side of the upper east in a quaint little coffee shop off Lexington Ave and 83rd Street. Since I’m not much of a tea drinker — often equating this ubiquitous beverage to dieting and Chinese restaurants — this is quite an epiphany for me. I use the term “tea” rather loosely here because I know that a purist will argue that tisanes are not REAL TEA, but rather they are herbal infusions (sidebar: happy, Brian?)
So, going back to the topic of discussion — in that little coffee shop, I had a tall iced crimson-with-a-twist-of-lemon tea (or tisane). I learned later that the gorgeous jewel color is from the main ingredient: blood orange which comes from the family of oranges. It’s one brilliant concoction, a feast to both eyes and palate. After that first sip, I was hooked! Since then, my day always start with a glass of Ruby Sipper.
My only regret was not taking a box home with me to Manila. I’ve looked in the big supermarkets in my area, to no avail. This holiday weekend I’ll try the gourmet and specialty shops hoping that there’s a distributor of SerendipiTea locally. Although, if I do get desperate enough, I can always buy online and ask a relative or friend to bring it home in their balikbayan box.
Until then, the search goes on.
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