I rooted through my stash for this after a discussion with whosbradpitt about the potential similarities and/or differences between gingerbread in the US and UK. Neither of us has tried both, so I decided to pull it out, steep it up and see how similar to gingerbread it seemed to me. I took this very seriously, making myself two cups steeped regular western style (one plain, one with additives), as well as a tea latte, which I’ve been making almost every night lately.
I think my final answer is… a bit similar?
When drank plain, the similarity is less noticeable, more of a rooibos chai and less of a ‘baked goods’ vibe. The spices are well-blended, which would usually be a plus, but the ginger isn’t particularly prominent so the ‘gingerbread’ feel is missing. Adding milk dulls the whole thing down, but a pinch of brown sugar adds that dessert feel which was missing and makes it feel much more like gingerbread. I even think the ginger becomes a little more prominent this way!
Prepared as a latte, this is where it really shines. Double strength tea, 1/3 hot milk and a teaspoon of premium grade maple syrup – this is how you make it taste like gingerbread! Now ginger isn’t my favourite spice, but I love cinnamon, and this is a really nice blend of the two. The rooibos isn’t particularly woodsy, but somehow is adding to the ‘cakeiness’ of the whole thing. If there were a brown sugar or vanilla note to really amp up the dessert notes, I think it would be spot on!
So in conclusion, is it gingerbread? Kinda. Is it tasty? Heck yeah.
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This is interesting – thanks for looking into this so much! What’s particularly funny to me is that plain, I felt like the ginger was really strong, and that’s what made it feel not like gingerbread. I do think some emphasis on the dessert component would be helpful. Glad you got to enjoy it in the process!
Gingerbread? Only from Pardubice (Czech Republic)!
Any time haha, I got curious!
Yeah, I read your notes after I wrote this up and noticed that you found the ginger more prominent. It might have just faded from mine, because it’s a good couple of years old at this point! If you take additives in your tea I highly recommend trying it either as a latte, or with a pinch of brown sugar and/or cream (:
A side note: I made a trip to Torun last end of year; and they are famous for gingerbread as well (and with friend from Pardubice). It seems the recipe is very different, as they use more black pepper in the mix, while Pardubice uses higher dose of honey. I think the recipes are different everywhere.
Martin – I had no idea gingerbread was Czech! I’m curious about the black pepper gingerbread, but the honey one from Pardubice sounds more like my kind of thing! Now I need to try the real deal when I visit. (:
If you ever come one day, I will be your guide (through teas, sights etc.) with a pleasure.
I would love that Martin !
This is interesting – thanks for looking into this so much! What’s particularly funny to me is that plain, I felt like the ginger was really strong, and that’s what made it feel not like gingerbread. I do think some emphasis on the dessert component would be helpful. Glad you got to enjoy it in the process!
Gingerbread? Only from Pardubice (Czech Republic)!
Any time haha, I got curious!
Yeah, I read your notes after I wrote this up and noticed that you found the ginger more prominent. It might have just faded from mine, because it’s a good couple of years old at this point! If you take additives in your tea I highly recommend trying it either as a latte, or with a pinch of brown sugar and/or cream (:
A side note: I made a trip to Torun last end of year; and they are famous for gingerbread as well (and with friend from Pardubice). It seems the recipe is very different, as they use more black pepper in the mix, while Pardubice uses higher dose of honey. I think the recipes are different everywhere.
Martin – I had no idea gingerbread was Czech! I’m curious about the black pepper gingerbread, but the honey one from Pardubice sounds more like my kind of thing! Now I need to try the real deal when I visit. (:
If you ever come one day, I will be your guide (through teas, sights etc.) with a pleasure.
I would love that Martin !