sips
how to brew
brewing basics
Remember: Whatever tastes right is the right brew for you!
secret brewing formula
1T + 150ml + 90C + 8min = yum
Plenty of people get into the weeds when it comes to brewing tea and coffee – they insist on a perfect right amount, temperature, and time.
But the brew that tastes good to you is the right one!
We’ve put some basic suggestions and guidelines below, but experiment until you get something you love.
As a bonus, alternative infusions like ours are way more forgiving than typical tea and coffee – you’re not going to get that super-bitter “oversteeped” taste if you wander off and leave your infusion going for longer than you planned.
Some brews even benefit from super-long steeps or resteeping two or three times!
about our sips & steeps
cacao
So you know and love chocolate – whether it’s a gourmet bean-to-bar, a cheeky Cadbury’s, or a cup of rich hot chocolate, you’ve probably enjoyed more than a few chocolate treats in your time.
But you might be missing out on one way to indulge without the guilt!
Did you know that when chocolate beans are roasted, chocolatiers only use the crunchy seed inside, called the nib?
Traditionally, though, the outer shell was also used, creating an intensely aromatic, bittersweet cacao “tea” that has all the taste and none of the calories of chocolate!
The ancient Aztecs and Maya were sure on to something there…
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 100°C (boiling)
- Time: 8-10 minutes or even longer for a richer brew – up to 20 minutes!
- Cold-brew by infusing overnight
lapacho (pau d’arco)
A favourite of the ancient Inca, lapacho, also called pau d’arco, is a traditional drink made from the inner bark of a type of South American evergreen tree.
Okay, so drinking tree bark sounds weird – but remember, coffee is ground-up beans and tea is dry leaves soaked in boiling water. Let’s not judge!
Lapacho tastes earthy and slightly bitter, with a hint of the tannins you’d find in a great cup of oolong or a Yunnan black tea. Some types can even get a little roasty or floral!
Naturally caffeine-free, lapacho makes a fantastic sip in the afternoon or evening when you want a hot cuppa but also want to fall asleep that night…
Oh, and if you’re feeling a little under the weather? Hit the lapacho! It’s proven to have serious antimicrobial properties and may help you prevent cold and flu, or shorten their duration if you’ve already got the sniffles.
Plus, lapacho has a whole host of other health benefits, from reducing inflammation to supporting digestion and gut health.
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 75-90°C (boil water, then allow it to cool slightly)
- Time: 8-10 minutes
yerba mate
This South American herb is an energizing, crisp herbal treat. When simply cut and dried, yerba mate has a clean, refreshing “green” taste, similar to that of green tea but without the acidity. When roasted, it has a deeper, richer flavour that’s more similar to oolong.
Regardless of how it’s prepared, yerba mate contains a substance called mateine, which is chemically identical to caffeine. Mate is actually quite highly caffeinated, although many people find that they get a longer, gentler buzz from mate than they do from tea or coffee.
Traditionally, yerba mate is prepared in a gourd; you fill the gourd with the dry leaves, then pour in water somewhat off the boil (around 175F) and allow it to steep. Instead of straining the brew, as with tea, mate is drunk by inserting a special metal straw, called a bombilla, into the gourd. The straw has small holes in the end that allow you to suck liquid through without sucking up the leaves.
Mate is often resteeped several times – when you run out of brew, you just pour in more hot water and keep infusing it. In fact, these later steepings are considered much tastier than the first brewing, and are preferred among mate drinkers in the know.
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 75-90°C (boil water, then allow it to cool slightly)
- Time: 5-6 minutes for the first steep; increase time for subsequent steepings, up to 12 minutes per cup
hibiscus
Tart and tangy, the dried flowers of the tropical hibiscus plant make an amazing infusion.
Hibiscus forms the base of tons of tisanes – if you’ve had a summer fruits herbal, you’ve had hibiscus!
But it’s good for more than just a citrusy zip – agua de jamaica, as it’s often called in the Caribbean, also matches well with warming spices and is sometimes even drunk instead of mulled wine in winter.
Hibiscus has tons of health benefits, too, from the usual antioxidants (seeing a theme here?) to anti-inflammatory qualities. It might even help with losing weight!
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 75-90°C (boil water, then allow it to cool slightly)
- Time: 3-8 minutes
olive leaf
Mild, vegetal, and slightly sweet, olive leaves make an amazing alternative to green tea.
Naturally caffeine-free, olive leaf tea is super-high in healthy antioxidants – studies show it has more than twice the free radical-fighting power of green tea!
But all the healthy qualities in the world don’t matter if something tastes nasty. So it’s a bonus that olive leaf tea is just plain delicious.
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 75-90°C (boil water, then allow it to cool slightly)
- Time: 3-8 minutes
malted barley
Looking for a roasty, toasty brew to replace your morning coffee?
Look no further than malted barley! This roasted grain gives a super-rich depth of flavour when steeped, somewhere between a chocolate and coffee flavour…but with no caffeine and less bitterness!
If you have trouble with acid reflux from coffee, you may have just found your new favourite brew.
Called boricha in Korea and mugicha in Japan, barley tea has been enjoyed for centuries both hot and cold. It’s thought to improve heart health and may even help regulate blood sugar.
Oh, and did we mention it makes an awesome latte, especially with oat milk? Yum!
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 100°C (boiling)
- Time:8-10 minutes or even longer for a richer brew – up to 20 minutes!
- Cold-brew by infusing overnight
rooibos
Made from the reddish, needle-like leaves of a South African plant, rooibos is a favourite for people who prefer to avoid caffeine. It brews up into a delicate, slightly sweet liquid that’s also great poured over ice for a refreshing summer drink.
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 90-100°C (boil water, then walk it to the teapot before pouring)
- Time: 5-8 minutes
dandelion
No, it’s not just a garden weed!
Dandelion is basically made of delicious magic – different parts of the plant can be prepared and steeped in different ways, creating a huge range of tastes to enjoy.
Dandelion leaves make a light gold tisane, perfect for enjoying as a green tea alternative.
Meanwhile, dandelion root can be either steam-dried or roasted. When steamed, it adds body to your herbal brew along with a slight caramel taste. When roasted, it gets all dark and rich, adding bitterness and body that reminds you of a great cup of coffee.
Best of all, dandelion is super-good for you! It contains tons of vitamins and minerals, plus dandelion root is high in prebiotics for supporting your gut health.
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 100°C (boiling)
- Time: 8-10 minutes or even longer for a richer brew – up to 20 minutes!
- Cold-brew by infusing double the amount overnight.
nettle
The same plant that gives you an uncomfortable itch when you brush up against it hiking also happens to be one of the tastiest, most healthful foods on the planet!
Foragers have long known that you follow the old folk wisdom and “grasp the nettle firmly,” you’ll be rewarded for your bravery with a super-yummy salad addition (well, after you plunge the leaves into boiling water for a bit to take the sting out…)
But nettle also makes an amazing tea alternative! Earthy and slightly sweet, it’s a little like a great oolong.
Plus, it might help reduce inflammation and ease your hay fever while you’re at it.
Our nettle infusions have absolutely no sting…just sippable goodness. Hooray!
- Amount: 1 heaping tablespoon per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz)
- Temperature: 75-90°C (boil water, then allow it to cool slightly)
- Time: 3-8 minutes
detailed instructions
cacao
Use a heaping tablespoon of cacao for one cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz) and steep in boiling water (100C) for 6-10 minutes using your favourite teapot or steeping device. Yes, that’s a lot more—for both amount and time—than for traditional Camellia sinensis tea. But trust us; your patience will be rewarded with a rich chocolatey cup of heaven!
For an even easier preparation method, try putting the same amount—1T per cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz)—in a French press and steeping for 10 minutes. Plunge, pour, and enjoy.
If you happen to make more than one cup of cacao at a time, be sure to stir up the brew between cups. A lot of the tasty stuff in brewed cacao settles to the bottom and needs to be stirred up before pouring again!
Pour-over coffee is having its day—it’s a great way to control the time and temperature you steep. Cacao doesn’t need quite the same lavish treatment, as it actually benefits from a longer steeping time, but there’s nothing quite like pour-over for getting the essence of the brew out.
To make pour-over cacao, you’ll first want to grind the cacao in a standard coffee grinder or food processor. You don’t want to create a fine powder, but you want to aim for a texture somewhere in between coffee grounds and sugar grains.
Put 2T of that ground cacao into a paper filter in your pour-over device of choice (Chemex, Melitta, etc.). Pour over water just off the boil, let filter, and enjoy.
If cold-brewed coffee is good, cold-brewed cacao is great! It takes a little time, but it’s as easy as can be. Just put half a cup of cacao into a bowl, French press pot, or other holding vessel. Pour 1 liter of cold water over top, making sure to completely soak the cacao. Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Uncover and strain, filtering the delicious elixir into a bottle—or straight into your cup.
This is a particularly great brew to drink in summer; pop the bottle into the fridge after you strain and enjoy chilled, either plain or with a splash of milk (we love almond and cashew milk for this).
Don’t toss the spent cacao! It makes a great organic garden fertilizer.
malted barley
Use two heaping tablespoons for one cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz) and steep in boiling water (100C) for 10-15 minutes using your favourite teapot or steeping device. Yes, that’s a lot more—for both amount and time—than for traditional tea or coffee. But trust us; your patience will be rewarded with a rich, roasty cuppa!
For an even easier preparation method, try putting the same amount—2T per cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz)—in a French press and steeping for 10-15 minutes. Plunge, pour, and enjoy.
Pour-over coffee is having its day—it’s a great way to control the time and temperature you steep. Malted barley brew doesn’t need quite the same lavish treatment, as it actually benefits from a longer steeping time, but there’s nothing quite like pour-over for getting the essence of the brew out.
To make pour-over barley brew, just add 4 heaping tablespoons to a paper filter in your pour-over device of choice (Chemex, Melitta, etc.). Pour over 150ml water just off the boil, let filter, and enjoy.
Believe it or not, you can brew our coffee alternatives right in your regular drip machine like standard coffee!
We recommend pulsing it a few times in a spice grinder or mini food processor just to make sure your brew is the same consistency as drip coffee grounds – it’ll still brew otherwise, but you’ll get a more flavourful cuppa if you grind first.
Use 2 heaping tablespoons of Novel Tastes malted barley “alt-coffee” per cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz). Put the alt-coffee in the machine’s filter basket, add the water like usual, and brew as normal!
Enjoy black, with the milk of your choice, or lightly sweetened.
If cold-brewed coffee is good, cold-brewed barley tea is great! Cold barley brew has been enjoyed in Korea and Japan for millennia – it’s slightly sweet, malty, and super-refreshing on a hot day.
It takes a little time, but it’s as easy as can be. Just put half a cup of malted barley brew into a jug, bowl, French press pot, or other holding vessel. Pour 1 liter of cold water over top, making sure to completely soak the grounds.
Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Uncover and strain, filtering the delicious elixir into a bottle—or straight into your cup.
This is a particularly great brew to drink in summer; pop the bottle into the fridge after you strain and enjoy chilled, either plain or with a splash of milk (we love oat or cashew milk for this).
herbal brews
Most herbal infusions, called tisanes, can be steeped using the same basic method!
Use a heaping tablespoon of your preferred steep for one cup (150-200 ml; 6-8oz) and steep in water just off the boil (80-90C) for 6-10 minutes using your favourite teapot or steeping device.
Don’t worry too much about amounts or times – because most herbal infusions lack the tannins of traditional tea, they won’t get undrinkably bitter if you leave them to steep a little longer.
For an even easier preparation method, try putting the same amount—1T per cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz)—in a French press and steeping for 10 minutes. Plunge, pour, and enjoy.
Most teas and tisanes can actually be steeped more than one time! When brewing, simply strain the leaves well, then infuse them into another pot of water. In the case of flavoured infusions like those from Novel Tastes, these subsequent steepings will often be weaker and less aromatic than the first, but you can still get 2-3 steepings per serving.
If you’re not going to resteep the infusion immediately, store it in the refrigerator – wet tea leaves are a magnet for bacteria, and you never ever want to resteep leaves that have been left sitting at room temperature for more than a few minutes.
Most herbal infusions can also be cold-brewed! It takes a little time, but it’s as easy as can be.
Just put half a cup of your preferred infusion into a jug, bowl, French press pot, or other holding vessel. Pour 1 liter of cold water over top, making sure to completely soak the leaves.
Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Uncover and strain, filtering the delicious elixir into a bottle—or straight into your cup.
This is particularly refreshing in summer; pop the bottle into the fridge after you strain and enjoy chilled, either plain or slightly sweetened.
yerba mate
Use a heaping tablespoon of yerba mate for one cup (150-200ml; 6-8oz) and steep in water just off the boil (75-90C) for 5-6 minutes using your favourite teapot or steeping device.
For an even easier preparation method, try putting the same amount—1T per cup (6-8oz)—in a French press and steeping for 5-6 minutes. Plunge, pour, and enjoy.
You can re-steep mate up to 5 times, though it will get milder and more subtle with each steeping. Many people find the second and third infusions to be the tastiest.
To re-steep, just add more hot water and keep infusing! Try steeping longer on your re-brews (up to 12 minutes) for the best flavour.
Traditionally, yerba mate is steeped in a gourd and sipped through a metal filter straw called a bombilla.
If you have a bombilla, you can simply add 1T yerba mate to a mug or a traditional gourd and fill with 150-200ml (6-8oz) water just off the boil (75-90C). Allow to steep for 5-6 minutes, then start sipping!
As the brew in the mug or gourd gets low, top up with more hot water and keep steeping and enjoying!
You can get 3-5 steepings from each batch, depending on how strong you like your yerba mate.
Just be aware that any additional flavours, like spices or herbs, will grow more subtle with each addition of water – but the taste of the mate itself will get smoother and develop more nuance!
If cold-brewed coffee is good, cold-brewed yerba mate, called terere, is great! It takes a little time, but it’s as easy as can be.
Just put half a cup of yerba mate into a jug, bowl, French press pot, or other holding vessel.
Pour 1 liter of cold water over top, making sure to completely soak the leaves.
Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Uncover and strain, filtering the delicious elixir into a bottle—or straight into your cup.
This is a particularly great brew to drink in summer; pop the bottle into the fridge after you strain, and enjoy chilled, either plain or lightly sweetened.
allergens & sensitivities
Our seasonings and sips are produced in a professional kitchen and may come in contact with allergens or gluten-containing products. All of our products that contain an allergen are clearly labelled. We make every effort to isolate ingredients and always sanitise between our micro-batches, but if you have a food sensitivity, please ask us about a special order just for you!