Tea Cocktails and Mocktails
A warm pot of loose leaf tea is the perfect follow-up to any dinner, but did you know tea can also be used to add complexity and flavor to your mocktails, cocktails and other beverages? For your next dinner party, consider mixing things up by incorporating tea.
We've made your hosting job easier by highlighting our favorite tea drink and digestif recipes from across the web – check them out below.
(photo credit Life is Better with Tea)
1. Ginger Chai Orange Spritz (as seen in Goldmine Journal)
Spicy, fresh, and alcohol-free, this spritz mixes brewed ginger chai, orange peels, a dash of cinnamon, honey, star anise, and a sparkling orange beverage. The result is a refreshing drink made for the holidays.
The recipe calls for chai teabags, but naturally, we brew with our Assam Black Tea + Ginger loose leaf for a more delicious flavor. Other ingredients include:
1. Ginger Chai Orange Spritz (as seen in Goldmine Journal)
Spicy, fresh, and alcohol-free, this spritz mixes brewed ginger chai, orange peels, a dash of cinnamon, honey, star anise, and a sparkling orange beverage. The result is a refreshing drink made for the holidays.
The recipe calls for chai teabags, but naturally, we brew with our Assam Black Tea + Ginger loose leaf for a more delicious flavor. Other ingredients include:
- 1 tbls black peppercorns
- 1 inch knob of ginger root, peeled
- 2, 1 inch long orange peels
- 1 tbls ground cinnamon
- 1 star anise pod
- 2-4 tbls of apple cider vinegar ( about a 1/2 tsp for each drink)
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of sugar or honey
- 2 San Pellegrino sparkling orange beverage
Check out the full recipe above.
2. Hibiscus Fizz Mocktail
Our Hibiscus Flowers are one of our favorite ingredients year-round. Steep these festive, vibrant flowers with a bit of sugar to make a simple syrup that pours neatly into a ginger hibiscus mocktail, or if you want something stronger: stir the syrup over ice with blanco tequila, rosemary, and a squeeze of lime.
We first spotted this recipe in the NY Times Cooking blog, but we've seen even better recipes on Dash of Jazz and Kimbrough Daniels.
(photo credit: Kimbrough Daniels)
3. Basil + Green Tea Mocktail
We recently discovered a delicious, green tea basil mocktail on Epicurious (full recipe here!), which combines freshly brewed green tea with pineapple juice, basil, and egg whites. Delicious! We love our Darjeeling Green Tea for this recipe, but also love Green Tea as an iced tea during the day: brew as usual, and pop in the fridge to cool down.
(photo credit Epicurious)
4. Chamomile Hot Toddy
(photo credit: Honestly Yum)
Whether its for a warming cocktail, festive mocktail, or a unique, mid-day weekend beverage, we highly recommend experimenting with your loose leaf teas. Enjoy!
(photo credit Epicurious)
4. Chamomile Hot Toddy
Yes, you can use Chamomile Flowers to wind the party down, but the steep also makes a cozy addition to a hot toddy. Brew the flowers with honey, bourbon, lemon juice, and hot water, then pour into your favorite mug and enjoy. We enjoyed this recipe from Honestly Yum, which calls for the following ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz bourbon
- 1/2 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz chamomile honey syrup
- 4 oz hot water
- lemon wedge and chamomile flowers (for garnish)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/8 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon dried chamomile flowers
(photo credit: Honestly Yum)
Whether its for a warming cocktail, festive mocktail, or a unique, mid-day weekend beverage, we highly recommend experimenting with your loose leaf teas. Enjoy!