Tomorrow is National Tea Day. This is a day that celebrates not just tea, but the tradition of sitting down and enjoying a cuppa in the company of friends. Earlier in the week, I started the celebrations early with my post about the British Afternoon Tea we enjoyed at The Goring Hotel in London.
There are lots of coffee-based cocktails. I’ve written in the past on the Boozy Coffee and the Canadian Coffee, I think it’s high time to give tea-based cocktails some love and shift the focus to tea for adults. I’ve teamed up with my friend Carla at ThirstyCamelCocktails to showcase some tea-based libations.
The original tea cocktail is the Blueberry Tea. This drink always makes me think of my friend Kelly, who is a fan of this cocktail as an after-dinner drink. It also reminds me of waitressing years ago, when it was a popular after-theatre drink. I’m made more than a few of these old school cocktails in my life! The actual drink itself does not contain any blueberries, although I like to use a few as garnish.
Since this is Tea for Two, I’m going to post two tea-based cocktails (in addition to a Blueberry Tea), one hot and one cold. Carla is also going to post two tea-based cocktails. You can check out what she has made (and subscribe to her blog, she posts every day and I don’t miss a post!) at www.thirstycamelcocktails.com. You should also check out her Instagram.
Enjoy National Tea Day and take your morning beverage into the evening! Salute!
Blueberry Tea
What you need:
- 1 oz Grand Marnier
- 1 oz Amaretto
- 4 oz Orange Pekoe or Earl Grey tea, hot
- orange slice (for garnish)
- blueberries (for garnish)
What you do:
- in a brandy snifter, add the Grand Marnier and Amaretto
- add the hot tea
- garnish with an orange slice and blueberries
Lemon Ginger Zip
What you need:
- 3/4 oz golden rum
- 3/4 oz Giffard Ginger of the Indies
- 3/4 oz Frangelico
- 4 oz lemon ginger tea, hot
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- candied ginger (for garnish)
What you do:
- in a brandy snifter, add the golden rum, Giffard Ginger of the Indies and Frangelico
- add the orange bitters
- top with the hot lemon ginger tea
- garnish with candied ginger
The French Canadian Tea
What you need:
- 1 oz Ungava Gin (Ungava is a Canadian tea-based gin)
- 3/4 oz Giffard Apricot du Roussillon
- 4 oz Earl Grey tea, cold
- 5 blackberries
- 5 mint leaves
- blackberries (for garnish)
- mint leaves (for garnish)
What you do:
- in a rocks glass, muddle the blackberries and mint
- add the Ungava gin and Giffard Apricot du Russillon
- add ice
- add the cold Earl Grey tea
- garnish with blackberries and mint
