It’s a brew, okay? An infusion or a tisane. But it isn’t tea. Tea is Camellia sinensis, and there’s none of the leaves of that specific plant in this drink. There’s fresh herb, a slice of fruit, water and nothing more.
But why do most food bloggers refer to herbal drinks like this as tea? Because they don’t know what real tea is. It’s sad, really. Just like noodleless pho, chocolate lasagna, crustless quiche and matcha green tea drinks. Matcha is the finely ground green tea leaves grown in the shade. So, “matcha green tea” literally translates to “ground (or powdered) green tea green tea”.
So, again, this drink is not tea. It’s a fruit and herb brew. The fruit is lemon (I don’t think that needs a lengthy explanation) and the herb is tarragon.
That is tarragon. The scientific name is Artemisia dracunculus. There are several subscpecies but only one, Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa, is cultivated for culinary use. It is often referred to as French tarragon but I don’t know if it’s because it’s native to France or because the French have been using it in their food for so long. Hints of anise and subtly sweet with a citrusy fragrance.
Tarragon flowers are small and yellow, and quite lovely. But apart from good looks, they are pretty useless for propagation. They are sterile, you see. So, you can’t grow tarragon from seeds. Growing it involves root division which we have never tried manually because the process happens underground without our intervention, and the tarragon just keeps multiplying pretty much the way grass does.
Now, about the drink. Yes, I used fresh tarragon from the garden. Can dried tarragon be substituted? Just like mint and cilantro, drying the herb results in a tremendous loss of flavor and aroma. I don’t recommend dried tarragon for making this drink.
What about the lemon? Will some other citrus work? Oh, yes. I have tried this with kaffir lime, and the drink was even more aromatic. Orange should work too although the drink will lose the tang that makes it so good.
Ingredients
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
- 1 slice lemon or lime or kaffir lime
- sugar to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse the tarragon to remove any trace of soil and dust. Press between stacks of paper towels to get rid of excess moisture.
- Drop the cleaned tarragon into a cup.
- Add the slice of lemon.
- Pour in newly boiled water.
- Leave to steep for two to four minutes depending on how much flavor and aroma you want in your drink.
- Stir in sugar (it's not required) and enjoy.
