Mixtape: Chrysanthemum
As soon as the temperature rises above 90 and the air becomes swimmable, I need a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge at all times. When I make sweet tea, my Georgia roots shine through: Only Lipton will suffice.
For my comfort and nostalgia, there's something about the bitterness of this bagged tea that suits my taste in the summer. Once upon a time, I'd make sweet tea so sweet that you could use it as syrup on your pancakes, but my body can't handle that much sugar any more, so I played with the recipe until I found a surprisingly great compromise:
Chrysanthemum Sun Tea
5 bags Lipton black tea
2 heaping spoonfuls dried kunlun chrysanthemum (in a loose leaf bag)
⅓ to ½ cup sugar
2 quarts filtered water
Now, don't use Lipton's Iced Tea or Cold Brew bags — just the regular stuff. You can find dried chrysanthemum at most Asian markets and herbal stores (this is what I use); chrysanthemum adds a floral character to the tea (duh), but also a natural sweetness and lightness that counteracts the bitterness of Lipton. In fact, just one sniff of the stuff will awaken your senses in the same way saffron does.
Get yourself a 2 quart-pitcher, hang the bags of tea with a clothes pin or chip clip from the side, add sugar (or honey, if preferred) and pour filtered water. Stir everything around a couple times to get all the flavors to say hi. Cover lightly and set outside in the sun for 3 hours. You can just brew this concoction with boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes and it will taste okay, but I've found that the slow steep in the sunlight dampens down the sharp flavor of Lipton's processed tea. Set it out in the sun by 11 a.m. and it'll be ready for mid-afternoon tea time. —Lars Gotrich
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Meridian Brothers, "En el Caribe estoy triste"
RP Boo & Armand Hammer, "Blood Running High"
Superposition, "KMT"
Elkhorn, "Road to Chaco Canyon"
Chuck Johnson, "Teleos"
Aphex Twin, "#19"
LEAVS, "To be here, to stay here"
Dark Thoughts, "Bubble's Gonna Burst"
Oceans of Slumber, "Where Gods Fear to Speak"
Another Dancer, "Overfriendly Dogs"
Dummy, "Nullspace"
Maibaum, "Grande Albero Buono Magico Uoma"
MF DOOM, "Chrysanthemum Flowers"
Sunday's Best, "Saccarchine"
Spectral Wound, "Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal"
Grant / McGuire / Flaherty, "Taner's Farm"
---__--____, "Night of Fire"
Cecile Believe, "Blink Twice"
Skeet, "Brief Call"
Lori Golston, "Several Ballads All at Once"
Horseback, "Invokation"
Judy And The Jerks, "Rats"
Black Artist Group, "For Peace and Liberty Part 2"
BASIC, "New Auspicious"
Jessica Ackerley, "All the colours are singing"
Bad Moves, "Hallelujah"
GEL, "Persona"
Raphael Rogiński (feat. Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė), "Šilinis Viržis"
Feeling Figures, "Swimming"
The Sewerheads, "Man of Finite Sorrow"
40 Watt Sun, "Closer to Life"