Sip of the Month: Fantastic Teas & Where to Find Them
When Perri B.B. approached us to design tea blends for The Fantastic Magazine: an awesome Baltimore based inclusive nerd lifestyle mag!!! we couldn't wait to get started. Now that the project is finished, I can't wait to start again! There's so much to love about Fantastic. Lady nerds, I highly recommend giving them a read. You can find all eight of Double Cup Teas fandom inspired blends in the Winter Issue, sandwiched between an insightful look at the strong female characters in "Vikings" and a handy Diverse Media Map (just some of the awesome content you can expect from F!)
I thought I'd give you a taste of one of these Fantastic Fandom Blends as part of our Sip of The Month. I call this one "Swooping Evil Tea" a magical tisane inspired by Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. If you haven't seen the movie yet, meet the Swooping Evil plant:
According to Newt Scamander (and harrypotter.wikia) "The Swooping Evil is a blue-and-green winged magical creature. It looks like a cross between a reptile and an extremely large butterfly. When it is not flying with its spiked wings, the Swooping Evil shrinks into a green spiny cocoon. It can be quite dangerous, as it can feed on people's brains, but also demonstrated being able to deflect at least some spells by flying into their path. It secretes venom that, when properly diluted, can be used to erase bad memories."
The base of Swooping Evil Tea is a vivid green and blue flower with memory enhancing properties known to us muggles and no-majs as Butterfly Pea Flower. It bears a striking resemblance to swooping evil, but can actually be used to resist its memory erasing effects (no, really!). If you think you may have been exposed to swooping evil, you can find this remedy at your local health food store, or online. (There's a tea for everything!)
I've saved the best for last! Not only does Swooping Evil Tea NOT suck your brain, it also magically changes color! Steep the buds to a bright blue, then squeeze a wedge of lime and watch the tea turn purple right before your eyes. As for the flavor the tea is more herbal than flowery. It's light and refreshing...and dare I say, magical? Right up there with pumpkin juice and butterbeer, the drink is sure to catch on with the wizarding world.