Paper Mario – The Origami King: Turtle Tea

Paper Mario: The Origami King has been a great delight to play through. I’m probably about half way through the game. The combat is a bit repetitive but it is the writing that makes this game shine. I find myself laughing out loud very often and sometimes just skipping enemies so I can get more of the story. Simple lines like talking about trees changing colors because they are embarrassed keep me smiling as I play. They’ve done a great job and can’t wait to play more this evening. If you are looking for a nice light hearted game, this one is perfect.

Throughout the game, there are lots of references to food and drinks. In many of the zones, you can find little hidden coffee shops that each serve their own unique take on coffee. One of the first stands you run into is in Toad Town. Here, they serve two items: Rabbit Espresso and Turtle Tea. Today we are going to calm ourselves down with a delicious Turtle Tea. Sometimes it is nice to take a moment and enjoy yourself. This tea is perfect for those moments. I decided to use genmaicha for our tea, which is a green tea that includes roasted rice. To push the rice flavor I also decided to use rice syrup as the main sweetener in the drink. Rice syrup might be the trickiest ingredient to find but you can find it at an Asian market. It is a pretty popular ingredient to use in Korean cuisine and it is something I always make sure to have in my pantry now.

1 ½ cups coconut milk
½ cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp genmaicha tea
2 tbsp rice syrup
1 ½ cups hot water

Heat the coconut milk, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pod in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.

Place the tea and rice syrup in a large cup. Pour in the boiling water. Brew the tea for 1 to 2 minutes.

Split the brewed tea into 2 large mugs or 3 medium mugs. Fill each glass with the heated coconut milk.

Print Recipe

Turtle Tea

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom pod
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp genmaicha tea
• 2 tbsp rice syrup
• 1 ½ cups hot water

Instructions

• Heat the coconut milk, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pod in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
• Place the tea and rice syrup in a large cup. Pour in the boiling water. Brew the tea for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Split the brewed tea into 2 large mugs or 3 medium mugs. Fill each glass with the heated coconut milk.