Teatime Meets Happy Hour: Tea Cocktails

While coffee maybe America’s go to hot beverage, indulging in a cuppa (British slang for a cup of tea) now and then can be a delightful alternative…especially when you blend teatime with happy hour. That’s right, those little bags of herbs and spices make for a wonderful cocktail base and we’ve got a collection of our favorites for you to try.

Pinkies, and bottoms, up!

Matcha Lemonade Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Lemonade
• 3 oz Matcha tea
• Cucumber garnish

Directions

1. Brew Matcha tea
2. Add ingredients and ice to shaker and shake until chilled.
3. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.
4. Garnish with cucumber slices.

Earl Grey Tea Cocktail

Ingredients

• 6 oz Cold Earl Grey tea
• 1¼ oz Gin
• 1¼ oz honey simple syrup (5 cups water, 1 cup honey in saucepan. Simmer until honey is dissolved)
• ¼ oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 sprigs lavender

Directions

1. Brew 4 cups Earl Grey tea.
2. Make a batch of honey simple syrup by combining 5 cups water and 1 cup honey in a saucepan and simmering until the honey has dissolved.
3. Cool tea and syrup in the fridge.
4. Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, with 2 sprigs lavender and ice.
5. Shake several times before straining the cocktail into a glass over one large ice cube.
6. Garnish with lavender.

Rye-Spiked Cinnamon Tea (su jung kwa tea)

Ingredients

Tea:

• ¼ lb fresh ginger, peeled and cut into ½” pieces
• ¼ lb cinnamon sticks
• 2 dried dates or jujubes
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ tbsp pine nuts

Cocktail:

• 1½ oz Rye whiskey
• 3 oz Su Jung Kwa tea
• ¼ oz lemon juice
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Orange twist, for garnish

Directions

1. Make the tea: In a 4-qt. pot, combine ginger, cinnamon, and jujubes with 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Let steep for 2 hours; add pine nuts and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Make the cocktail: Fill cocktail shaker with ice and add all ingredients; cover and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange twist, if you like.

Rock & Rye & Rum Punch

Ingredients

• 2 oz hibiscus tea
• 1½ oz Rock and Rye
• ½ oz Aged Rum
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• 1 slice orange, to garnish
• 1 brandied cherry, to garnish

Directions

1. Stir together brewed and cooled tea, Rock and Rye, rum, and juice in an old-fashioned glass.
2. Add ice, and garnish with orange slice and brandied cherry.

Peach Iced Tea Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened peach tea
• 1 oz Peach vodka
• 1 oz Mint simple syrup
• Mint sprigs and peach slices for garnish

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker to mix
2. Serve over ice with a mint sprig and peach slices mixed in

Southern Fruit Tea Cocktail

Makes a pitcher

Ingredients

• 64 oz Sweet Tea
• 1 cup lemonade
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ½ cup orange juice concentrate thawed
• 1 ½ cups dark rum
• sliced lemons pineapple chunks, oranges, mint, and maraschino cherries for garnish

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and stir well.
2. Pour individual servings over ice and garnish with fresh fruit.

White Peach Green Tea Bellini

Ingredients

• 1 tsp or 1 sachet green tea
• 1 cup filtered water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ white peach, chopped into cubes
• 2 oz gin
• 4 oz prosecco
• Ice for serving
• White peach slices for garnish

Directions

1. Heat water to 185°F and steep tea for 2-3 minutes. Then remove tea bag or leaves and set aside to cool.
2. Place the sugar in a shallow bowl or plate, moisten the rim of the cocktail glass with a peach slice, and dip it into the sugar to coat the rim.
3. Next muddle the peach cubes in the sugar rimmed glass. Add in the gin, prosecco, and 4 oz of the tea. Add a couple of ice cubes, garnish with peach slices

Chai Tea Cocktail

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup vanilla almond milk
• ⅓ cup chai tea concentrate
• 1½ oz maple whiskey

Directions

1. Combine together all ingredients and shake.
2. Pour over ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick.