An occasional series where Em the Tea Fancier investigates the iconic sweet treats that inspire SaChasi tea blends.
When you're doing a doughnut deep dive, the first question that comes up is why are they called doughnuts when they are emphatically not nuts, and most of them don't even contain nuts?
Well, it turns out that an old meaning of the word ‘nuts’ was small round biscuit cake things; a definition which limps on in the modern age not just with doughnuts but also with the perennial favourite dunking biscuit, the gingernut, and German Pfeffernüsse (peppernuts).
So many cultures have their own deep-fried sweet bun variations that it's difficult to pinpoint the doughnut's earliest origins. But traditional American doughnuts almost certainly came from Dutch immigrants who brought their olykoeks to New Amsterdam in the early 18th century.
Olykoek literally means “oily cake”, a brutally honest description of a treat containing up to 25% fat. I'm pleased that “oily cake” didn't catch on as the English name for doughnuts. You might as well go into a bakery and say, “I’ll have some deep-fried fat and sugar, please," and be done with it.
SaChasi’s Glazed Funfetti Donuts tea is a tribute to American-style sprinkle-topped ring doughnuts made famous (in the UK, at least) by Homer Simpson. At least, that was the first time I became aware of this iconically decorated doughnut. I was raised - as is right and proper - to consider the jam doughnut as the default doughnut.
(Mind you, if I had to draw a doughnut in a game of Pictionary, I'd opt for a Simpsons-style pink sprinkle doughnut because that would be a lot easier than the comparatively featureless jam-filled version.)
Although the doughnuts of my youth were straightforward jam- or custard-filled affairs, the arrival of Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme franchises to the UK introduced Brits to lavishly adorned American-style treats. We'd been making do with a squirt of raspberry jam and some icing sugar when there was a whole world of frosting, sprinkles, cookie crumb, fudge pieces and chocolate chips out there.
You can go too far, mind you. I used to work next to a bakery in London, which topped its doughnuts with whole Oreos, Lotus Biscoff cookies and fun-size Snickers bars. This isn’t so much decorating a doughnut as just putting a whole other foodstuff on top of it. You may as well stick a Victoria sponge atop a doughnut and call it a mid-morning snack.
Doughnuts are typically made with flour, yeast, sugar eggs and milk, although there are many variations, including gluten-free and vegan options. If you want to try your hand at making doughnuts at home there’s an easy-to-follow recipe here.
SaChasi’s Glazed Funfetti Donuts tea eschews all those ingredients, obviously, and instead consists of rooibos, meadowsweet, carob, mesquite, raw stevia, vanilla, pomegranate petals, cornflowers, orange blossom and natural flavouring. This means you get all the flavour of a deep-fried doughnut without the fat, sugar, calories or guilt - if you’re the sort of person who feels guilty about excessive sweet treat consumption, that is. If you're – like me – of a 'more is more' disposition, then you can enjoy SaChasi teas as a welcome accompaniment to delicious, sugary, deep-fried oily cake.
Like all SaChasi teas, Glazed Funfetti Donuts tea is available in 20g samples, making it a perfect stocking filler. Stuffing your loved ones' stockings with a selection of SaChasi blends is a great way to show your appreciation not just for the gift recipient but also for small, independent businesses.
Why not try to shop with independent producers as much as possible this Christmas? Unlike large corporations, small businesses often offer unique, handcrafted products that add a personal touch to your gifts and your support directly contributes to the livelihoods of passionate entrepreneurs.