Originally posted by Bestia on April 20, 2016
Our talented friends over at August Uncommon have created their first custom tea blend, Avalon, for Bestia. Avalon is a burnt apple oolong served chilled on draft, and we just can’t get enough of it. This tea is a collaboration between August’s culinary lead, Gina Zupsich and chefs Chef Ori and Genevieve. It’s their first collaboration.
We sat down with Gina from August, who gave us a little insight as to what inspired this blend.
What inspired you to create this blend? I’m always looking to amazing flavors from my food memories to translate into tea blends. Hopefully, the result is a familiar sensory experience in the less familiar form of tea. For Avalon, I was inspired by the classic French dessert, a tarte tatin. It’s the first thing I ever successfully baked in the early days of my French studies, and it’s become a family favorite.
The tarte tatin is a caramelized upside down apple tart that’s flambed with Calvados apple brandy and served with fresh cream. The goal was to create a rich, creamy apple tea with that wonderfully deep flavor of burnt sugar. We paired dried apple with a roasted formosa oolong base because it’s a tea with natural depth and it’s mild enough to let the apple flavor shine. The result is a chilled tea that is reminiscent of a hot apple tart, so it’s refreshing and rich.
Where did the name come from? The name Avalon refers to the mythical Celtic island of apples. We wanted to give Bestia a strong name to match their aesthetic. When we thought of Bestia, we thought of Bestiaries, an ancient compendiums of beasts. We thought Avalon had the same mystical medieval vibe.
Is it a seasonal blend? As an apple tea, it would be a Fall/Winter tea. However, at Bestia where it’s served chilled on draft, it’s a great perennial blend for Los Angeles
So, I’m sure everyone is wondering – where can we buy this? We’ve had interest from Bestia customers! This blend is totally exclusive to Bestia, so right now the only way you can drink it is by visiting the restaurant.
