I often get asked for my suggestions on kid friendly teas. Harney & Sons’ Birthday Tea, Elmwood Inn’s Blueberry Infusion, or even Teavana’s Chocolate Bananas Foster are all great choices for children. Slightly sweet and non-caffeinated always work best for the kiddos.
Once you taste today’s recipe, it will soon become the next tea that you add to your kid friendly tea list. Ironically, it’s the most un-tea like tea blend that you will ever find. And unlike the other blends I’ve mentioned, you can’t buy this tea–you actually have to make it!
Any idea what type of tea it is? That’s right…Cereal Milk Tea!!
A few years back, when I was rummaging through my fresh copy of David Chang and Peter Meehan’s Momofuku Cookbook, I remember thinking how cereal milk was one of the most fascinating and creative culinary ideas ever. Cereal Milk Panna Cotta? I’m there!
For a tea lover and cookbook enthusiast like myself, there is no better way to pay homage to Momofuku’s Cereal Milk craze then by creating some Cereal Milk Tea Bags.
The kid’s cereal variety packs are perfect for this project, because you can get a variety of flavors without having to buy so many boxes of cereal. With these boxes, we also create tea tags which are attached with some multicolored baker’s twine.
You can also use some clear cello bags to package up your tea treats if you plan on giving them out as gifts or favors. These days, baker’s twine comes in so many bright and beautiful colors and in smaller amounts, so it’s fun to play around with how your finished tea bags will look.
What will make your Cereal Milk Tea Bags memorable and unique is if you pay special attention to the tags that you create with the punch out tool. I like to choose iconic sections of the cereal box designs so that the finished tea bags look uniform and recognizable.
It’s amazing how an ingredient like kiddy breakfast cereal can somehow become a gourmet item in the hands of a few imaginative chefs. I know that there are some of you out there saying: “Hey! Cereal Tea isn’t really tea!” You’re partly right…this post has nothing to do with our much-loved Camella Sinensis plant, but it does have to do with the way we’ve come to regularly enjoy tea in clever little filter bags.
Not to worry, I’ll get back to those beautiful green leaves in no time. For now, I’m going to sit back and relax with an unsophisticated and comforting cup of warm Cereal Milk Tea. You should do the same!
Cereal Milk Tea
Ingredients:
cereal of your choice
1 cup of milk for each Cereal Tea Bag
Equipment:
tea filters (I used size 2 T-Sacs)
bakers twine, cut into 8″ pieces
mortar & pestle
scissors
stapler
Tablespoon
tag punch (I used 1 13/16″)
thumb tack
cello treat bags (3″ x 4″, if you want to wrap the finished tea bags)
clear tape (if you want to wrap the finished tea bags)
Directions:
1.) Gather your tools and equipment for making the tea bags.
2.) Use mortar & pestle to grind down 2 Tbsp of cereal.
3.) Pour ground cereal into the tea filter.
4.) Fold down top/unfilled portion of the tea bag.
5.) Fold right and left corners of the folded tea bag down to the center vertical line of tea bag to form a triangle top tip.
6.) Fold tip of triangle down to center of edges folded in previously.
7.) Use stapler to attach twine to folded side of tea bag. Staple twine to bag about a half centimeter below the top edge of the tea bag.
8.) Use the punch out tool to create a tag from the cereal box.
9. Use a thumb tack to create a small hole in the top of the tag.
10.) Use the thumb tack to push the twine into the tag hole. Leaving a few inches between the tea bag and the tag, tie a knot in the twine on the uncolored side of the tag, then snip off excess string with scissors.
11.) Your tea bag is done! Place each tea bag in a clear cello bag and tape up if you want a more finished look.
12.) Dunk each Cereal Tea Bag in 1 cup of warm milk, then let steep for several minutes and enjoy!