This is step four of my cold regiment. It’s newly added and it seems to help. Plus, I love ginger, I love pepper, and I’ve always added them to my own cold remedy to reap their benefits. It’s possible I’ve only added this as an excuse to drink it, but it’s nice to know that I don’t feel like I have to prepare my own concoction anymore.
I like the look of this tisane. In its dry state, it has a light appearance from the dried ginger with a bold plash of red from the red peppercorns. It’s a complimenting contrast that leaves the black peppercorns barely noticeable; along with the rooibos that I know is hiding in there somewhere. It smells strongly of ginger and pepper, giving it that clean lemony smell that I love so much about ginger.
When steeped, the colours of red and green rooibos dominate and I’m reminded of Christmas time. The ginger darkens and the peppercorns merrily float at the top in a desperate attempt not to be forgotten. It’s kind of cute the way the rooibos goes back into hiding after removing the strainer from my cup, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The peppered aroma takes a back seat as the scent of ginger gains its strength and my mouth begins to water, knowing that pepper will help to suppress my cough and the ginger will do its best to soothe my throat and lighten my spirit. The crisp, lemony smell is doing the trick, and already, I feel more alert.
The liquor is cloudy, throwing around hints of umber and sienna in a golden honey appearance. Atop, lies a faint sunny glow. The flavour is mild, like peppered water with a ginger heat that creeps up after the first swallow. It’s not bad. The lemon flavour is there and I can sense the ginger cleansing my palette. Each sip becomes fresher and cleaner. Each flavour stands out more, and for some odd reason, I think of chicken soup—it must be the pepper.
I really like this tea. My only qualm is that it doesn’t have enough ginger. I’m not even sure if it has enough pepper. I’m sure it was kept at a globally acceptable level, and there is no reason why I can’t add extra pieces of my own fresh ginger and pepper, maybe even a squeeze of lemon for this one. Mmm…
