Cacao Tea Banana Bread Recipe

I was gifted a sampling of cacao tea to try out. It’s funny because I had recently seen something about cacao tea on Instagram just before and was instantly intrigued. The tea is made from the husks (shells) from cacao beans after they’ve been fermented and roasted. Cacao Tea Co’s tea is 100% natural and organic and it contains no caffeine or added sugar. When it came in the mail I couldn’t resist giving it a try. I followed their recommendation of brewing 2 tsp of the tea with about a cup of boiling water for 7 mins using a french press.  I was surprised by the strong chocolate smell of the tea and the very light chocolate taste.  I tried it both with and without sugar and I actually preferred it without sugar.

After enjoying the tea in drink form, I decided to try it in a banana bread recipe. I used a double strength brew and longer steep time for the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup strong brewed cacao tea
1.5 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 Cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Brew 3/4 cup of strong cacao tea. I used 1 Tbsp Cacao Tea Co tea brewed in 1 Cup boiling water for 15 minutes, drinking 1/4 cup and saving the remaining 3/4 Cup for the recipe. Set 3/4 cup of tea aside and let cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Grease 5×9 loaf pan and drape wax paper across the pan for a sling and set aside.

4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside.

5. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, add room temperature tea, stir until combined and set aside.

4. Beat together softened butter and brown sugar until well incorporated then beat in eggs one at a time until well blended then add vanilla extract

5. Gradually mix in the flour mixture and banana mixture 1/3 at a time, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix.

6. Add batter to loaf pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  The addition of the granulated sugar gives the top of the bread a nice crispy crust. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 mins, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Let cool for 10 mins in pan. Lift bread out of pan using the sling and cool on a wire rack.

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