Ilex Tea
Ilex Tea is a tea made from the Ilex vine, a climbing plant natively found about the sandstone plateaus of Ket and Nurin, though now cultivated all over the Broken Empire. It is sometimes called Saint August's Tea in Æthermark and some parts of the Midlands after an Ajoran friar who popularized the drink outside Ket. Light to transport, heavily caffienated and an appetite suppressant, Ilex Tea is a popular traveling companion and also favoured by athletes.
Preparation
Ilex Tea is made from grinding the plant whole into a medium-fine grain and added to boiling water. It is customarily drank in a specific cup with a narrow opening with which to drink only the liquid; the grounds are considered too bitter for consumption. The flavour is most often described as citrusy and bitter, with slight notes of herbaceousness. There are many popular blends around the Broken Empire that combine Ilex with other dried plants, often to balance the bitterness aspect. A few Middish provinces add cream or milk, though this is generally frowned upon: enthusiasts feel it's a dismissal of the fullness and subtleties of the plant's flavour.In Waking Culture
Heavily caffienated, Ilex Tea is generally consumed early in the morning to gain a faster state of wakefulness. The heightened state the tea provides is also used as a social lubricant in some societies, particularly its original discoverers, the Kettites and Nurinians. The added energy combined with a appetite suppressant effect makes it a prized companion for travelers, who may be forced to skip meals. Some noble houses in the Allesans are adopting use of the tea as a weight loss measure.
As the oceans of the Sunken Expanse recede, kaiju activities lessen and intercontinental exploration is on the rise, there is currently a push from the Outmarcher Trade Delegation to market Ilex Tea to entirely new cultures overseas.
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