Beer, tea & tequila cocktail

BeerTea!

I find all sorts of fun brands through instagram and I was so excited to come across Owl's Brew which combines beer & tea! I was at a total wine & more and came across this flavor that combines amber ale, darjeeling hibiscus, strawberry and lemon juice. How could I resist?!

Just a little background, I actually enjoy a good beer so the thought of combining beer and tea was really exciting for me. They have a stout coming out in October with chai and I can't wait to try that one too!

After some thought, I decided that the black tea and lemon would be a great combo with tequila. I also wanted to add a little spice so I included some ginger liqueur as well. The great thing about this cocktail is that you should make it one cup and you can control how strong or weak you want the drink to be!

I suggest using equal parts tequila and ginger liquer so that you get both flavors but it's not too strong. 

Once everything is in the cup just fill the rest of the cup with the Owl's Brew! The majority of the drink is the Owl's Brew so it's bubbly and sweet!

I really like the taste of these flavors combined especially because the Owl's brew has the distinct taste of beer AND tea. 

The lime garnish is a great addition to give your drink an extra kick if you'd like!

This is a super easy drink and could be made into a pitcher as well if you have a larger party. 

Do you have a favorite tea cocktail?! 

Jasmine Sangria

FruTEA. 

Summer time means lots of fun drinks and although I'm not the biggest fan of wine, I knew it would be good to make a sangria with this jasmine tea from Just Tea. That came in my sipsby box.  

I love that this tea combines the purple tea and jasmine with cornflower blossoms. The cornflower blossoms make the tea so beautiful! 

In my recipe I talk about choosing 3 fruits. I chose peach and blueberry and then cherries for the garnish. I also later threw in a bunch of cherries as well. Soaking the fruit in the ginger liqueur gives the sangria more depth in it's taste. I chose the ginger liqueur because I thought that ginger and fruit are a delicious pair and ginger is also a versatile flavor when it comes to making cocktails. 

I took a trip down memory lane when I chose vinho verde for the wine. As I've discussed I'm not much of a wine drinker but I do enjoy bubbly drinks. Vinho Verde is definitely bubbly. In college, my roommate and bestie introduced it to me and I fell in love. Sometimes we would make excuses to stay in instead of going out and share a bottle while watching movies. I have such wonderful memories of vinho verde and that's why it had to be what went in the sangria!

In my directions I talk about putting in the fruit first but in this photo that's not what you see. This was just a lesson learned after making the sangria. The order of the fruit doesn't matter too much but it's better to put the majority of the fruit into the pitcher when it's empty so that you avoid lots of splashing!

After the entire bottle of wine is poured into the pitcher, you can top it off with a little extra ginger liqueur for taste if you'd like or perhaps add a drop or two to each glass you pour. 

If you want some guidance on choosing fruit, I would say that of the 3 that I used the peaches were the best. They soaked up the flavor so well and it was easier to fish out the pieces to enjoy. The blueberries were also good and cherries as well but If I created this again I would probably substitute the cherries with raspberries!

What fruits would you choose?!

Bourbon Puerh Cocktail

Boozy Tea.

Ok, so I know I just made a similar drink with some bubbly but if you love bourbon you HAVE to try this! I enjoyed the green tea champagne drink so much I decided to tweak it for a different use. Enter, orange drop tea from White 2 Tea thanks to my Sipsby box!

P.s.You can use the code teathoughts for 50% off your first box!

Orange drop is a very special treat that I've been dying to try for some time! This is a  Xinhui Mandarin stuffed with ripe puerh tea. That's right, tea stuffed into a mandarin! This is meant to be brewed, skin and all. The mandarin sparked an idea. Old fashioned drinks often have the peel of an orange and it gives such a great flavor so I decided to try this tea with bourbon! 

You can steep this tea with the skin and in a tradition 4-6 oz pot or a larger pot. I actually decided to used my gaiwan that I love so much! This tea can be re-steeped 10 times so I suggest tasting the tea after the first steep to make sure you like the flavor. You could even keep different steeps separate and use the one where the taste is best. For my drink, I combined the 1st and 2nd steep. 

Why sour cherries? Before I go crazy and buy everything from the store, I often try to create a recipe with whatever I have in my fridge because that is more conveniant and I want these recipes to be easy and low effort! I had some sour cherries from the farmer's market and I remember that sometimes bartenders put cherries in an old fashioned. The less ingredients in my drink the better, BUT this means I know that the flavors more or less work! 

I'm not sure if you've ever had a sour cherry, or if you like sour things but they are absolutely delicious. I thought the flavors of the orange drop and cherries would go well and the cherries would also soak up the alcohol well. I used shot glass measurements for this drink. I used 1/2 of a shot of bourbon, 1.5 shots of tea and the rest was the sparkling wine. Let me tell you, ONE of these packs a punch! 

The sparkling wine brings some sweetness to this drink and you are always welcome to replace it with a dry champagne!

Just like the other cocktail I made, this is bubbly and fun and great for a party or a maybe an intimate celebration! 

BTW: I don't work for Bulleit, I just love their bourbon so much. Ever since we discovered it, its always on our shelf. It's great neat but it also is perfect for a mixed drink! 

Happy Sipping! 

Green Tea Passion Fruit Champagne Cocktail

Tea Crystals.

What the heck are tea crystals?! I didn't know either! Pique Tea reached out to me to try their tea and I was intrigued! I've probably mentioned that I'm somewhat of a loose leaf snob but am always willing to try new things! Before I received the tea I checked out the process and guess what? To get these crystals, the tea is in fact brewed from loose leaves!

I think it's really cool that these crystals are made from actual brewed tea and are able to keep in the benefits and flavors of the tea. Although, I like to enjoy my tea slowly and in places where I don't have to rush, these packets are perfect for people who want tea but can't make the time or for traveling! I also think that these packets make tea more accessible to people and I'm all about spreading the love for tea!  

You're welcome to brew this tea with hot or cold water, I used cold water because I didn't want to wait for the hot tea to cool down. If you're making these for a party I would also suggest cold water so you can make these drinks right away! Once the water hit the crystals, they start dissovling.

I'm not sure if I've ever discussed my process but I do a lot of flavor brainstorming before I create a recipe. I think about the flavor and what I've had it with and what I've liked it best with. I also think about dishes I like and wish there was tea in! I've had many passion fruit flavored things but I'm not sure I've ever eaten a passion fruit by itself so I had to do a little research about what flavors pair well with it. 

In my research, I concluded that raspberries and champagne were a great combo for this tea! I did not sweeten this drink but if you like sweet drinks, simply add honey or sugar to the tea or the finished drink! 

You can kind of play around with the amount of tea vs champagne in this drink. I made mine slightly boozier by adding more champagne than tea. I was thinking that if you had frozen raspberries you could even use those to make this drink even cooler!

This is a super simple cocktail and I think it's great for a party! Pique Tea is affordable and has green and black teas, you can check out their flavors here!

Turmeric Rooibos Chai Ginger Ale

Spicy Ginger!

I had the chance to try the Turmeric Rooibos Chai from Liquid + Leaf. This blend contains Organic rooibos, organic turmeric root, organic cinnamon, organic licorice root, organic black pepper, organic bourbon vanilla pieces, organic clove buds, organic cardamom seed, and organic marigold flowers. 

These liquid leaf loose leaf tea bags are easy to infuse into anything you want to make and would be great if you're on the go. I like to bake and cook sometimes with tea bags because they make less mess and removes a few steps from the process. 

I've recently been itching to make my own ginger ale and I found an easy method making syrup that is mixed with seltzer water. I thought that turmeric ginger chai would be an interesting flavor to add to the ginger ale. 

This is a very simple recipe and if you're a ginger lover this is for you! The ginger simmers so long in the water that this syrup turns up being very potent and delicious! 

I use a suggested amount of syrup but it's really your own preference. I think it will turn out best by using a tall glass or pitcher and adding in the syrup first and then filling it with the seltzer water. 

A note about this ginger ale. If you don't like the taste of turmeric, you may not like the taste of this drink. Turmeric is a heavy flavor in this drink along with the ginger. 

Have you ever made your own ginger ale?! 

Blueberry Basil Bourbon Cocktail

Bulleit Tea.

My friend Brittany over at Wight Tea Co. sent me this wonderful tea called Blueberry Basil! Blueberry basil is a mix of South African green rooibos, blueberries, lemon peels, and basil.  

Look at these whole blueberries in this tea! I love when teas have REAL ingredients. 

You're always welcome to cold brew your tea but I like to brew it hot and let it cool down before mixing everything together! 

Bulleit, bulleit, bulleit! Why is this girl so obsessed with bulleit you may ask? One of the reasons I love bulleit is because it's so delicious to have on it's own but it's also great as something in mixed drinks. Bulleit has a great flavor and I knew it would taste great with the flavors of the tea. 

Angostura bitters add a hint of the "old fashioned" and so does the brown sugar. I give a range for the bourbon and sugar in this recipe because I think it's best to add in each little by little and make the drink as strong or as weak as you'd like. 

I'm personally usually on the higher end of bourbon and lower end of sugar ;) 

I chose blueberries due to the name of the tea but they really go well with bourbon! Have them as a snack as you enjoy your drink or place the blueberries in the drink to soak it up! 

What's your favorite cocktail?! 

Matcha Old Fashioned

Matcha Cocktail. 

If you've been reading my blog or follow me on instagram you probably know that I love whiskey! I usually take my whiskey or bourbon neat but if I'm going to have a cocktail I love the simplicity of an old fashioned. I decided to try to incorporate one of my go to teas into one of my favorite drinks!

The Matcha Reserve provided this ceremonial matcha and a peach matcha that I will be baking with soon! 

You always want to sift the matcha. In a cake or something with a lot of batter you can probably get away with not doing it but when you don't have a lot of liquid it needs to be sifted so it doesn't clump. 

This is a tip for making an old fashioned that really helps with the taste. I like to let the sugar and the bitters sit for a minute so that they really combine well. When the sugar is completely soaked in the bitters the flavor and overall quality of the old fashioned is better !

A word about the orange twist. I think these turn out best when you cut the peel with a pairing knife and slice off any thick white rind so that it twists more easily and soaks up your drink better. Feel free to use the twist as a garnish but I like to drop it in the drink so that the drink gets a little orange flavor. 

My final drink is pretty dark in color. The Bulleit bourbon I used is dark and so are the bitters. I also used brown sugar. If you modify any of those or use less matcha then the drink will come out lighter.

So you're probably wondering...what does it actually taste like?! In all honesty, if you don't enjoy an old fashioned this is not the drink for you. It takes the potent and delicious flavor and enhances it with matcha!

Here's my take: at first sip I got that punch of bourbon flavor and then the matcha comes right after. It was a little strange when I first tried it but after a few sips I LOVED IT! It's totally going to be a drink I make more often. I think that if I plan in advance and let the bourbon and matcha to sit and infuse each other for longer the flavor will be even better!

Bolder Strawberry Iced Tea

Strawberry Cake Iced Tea.

You may be wondering why I started with strawberry cake. A while back I got this tea from The Tea Spot and baked with it. The aroma and taste were so rich and sweet like cake that I was referring to it as cake tea! 

If I already have a tea that is cake flavored, why not make it a strawberry cake ??! Strawberries add a fresh and light component to this dark tea. 

This blend is so interesting because it combines different black teas, pu'erh and chocolate flavoring! See? Sounds like a cake doesn't it ?!

You can look up different tutorials to cut these roses. The way I did it was first inserting the toothpick into the bottom so that you have something to hold it by. Then take a pairing knife and make 4 slices all the way around the bottom. The slices should go down far but not far enough to cut the pieces of strawberry off. Then go around the strawberry and make one cut between two of the bottom petals. Continue to do this all around then split the top of the strawberry. Voila!

I like to put the honey in while the tea is hot so that it dissolves! I really enjoy the honey flavor in this tea specifically because it goes well with the overall sweet flavors. If you choose to not put in any sweetener I would suggest brewing a little less tea so that it isn't as strong. 

The raw honey I used has bee pollen on the top and I love how the little specs stayed in the tea as I let it soak up the strawberry flavor. 

This is a strong black tea which I love iced! The strawberry flavor comes through well, especially if you put slices in the tea while it's cool. 

Strawberries remind me of summertime so they are perfect with this iced tea. Even with the strong black tea, when iced this is a refreshing drink! 

Bourbon Green Tea

Cocktail + Tea = CockTEAl

I tried another beautiful tea from Cai Cai and decided to have a little fun with it! 

Needles is an organic Longjing green that has this beautiful feather like shape as you can see in the above image. 

This tea has a more classically green tea aroma which to me, is very earthy. The finished brew is pretty light in color as you are only to steep it for 2 minutes.

The taste was very sweet and light just as I would have suspected from the color. I also felt as if there was a hint of butter in the flavor?  

I've really been enjoying different tea experiments. Baking with tea is always fun, I've created a bath soak and one of my new favorite is cockTEAls ! 

Here's what you'll need: 

• Bulleit Bourbon

• Cai Cai Needles tea

• Angostura bitters

• Sweetner (optional but recommended)

Directions: 

1. Brew 2 Tablespoons of needles tea. Immediately after you pour the hot water over the leaves, place your sweetener of choice in the pot. This time I used rock sugar.

2. Once brewed, let the tea cool.

3. Find a good whiskey glass. The celebrate glass is from Rachel Allene's etsy shop

4. Pour 2-3 dashes of bitters in your glass

5. Pour 1-2 parts bourbon in your glass depending on desired strength of drink

6. Pour 3-4 parts cooled needles and sugar mixture into your glass.

7. Mix & Chill

8. Enjoy!

I really like this combination. In all honesty, my favorite way to enjoy any good whiskey is neat BUT I do like to experiment. This mixture is great because the needles tea is light so it doesn't completely mask the flavor of the Bulleit. 

This is perfect for someone who wants to enjoy some bourbon but not with the punch of having it neat or on ice. Hey, if it has green tea it's healthy right ? ;) 

Have you tried a cockTEAl drink recipe that you've loved?!

Warm up with this Whiskey & Tea drink recipe!

WhiskTEA.

I'm on the east coast so the weather is starting to get a bit chilly. Two of my favorite drinks to warm up are a hot cup of tea and a glass of whiskey neat. I've been thinking recently if there was a way to combine my two loves to get the best of both worlds...

*LIGHTBULB MOMENT* 

I call it The WhiskTEA: Fall in a cup!

Okay, okay it's really just my version of a hot toddy :) I was really excited to make this with tea from a company I just discovered, For Tea's Sake. Of course, a company with a tea pun as the title made got me all giddy! 

You only need a few ingredients for this simple drink.

1. Whiskey of your choice. I used Jameson because that is one of my favorites but I think that a bourbon would be just as delicious. My favorite bourbon is Bulleit.

2. Carnival Ride tea blend (Use code Naza15 for 15% off your first order!)

3. Fresh cinnamon sticks

4. Shot glass

5. Tea infuser or loose leaf sachets.

The instructions are so simple, get ready to make a mug full of happiness! 

• Gather ingredients

• Fill shot glass with your whiskey of choice and pour into a glass or mug. Make sure whatever you pour the drink in can withstand hot temperatures. If you'd like a stronger drink, feel free to use more whiskey ;)

• Boil water. Once boiled, pour water into a cup then place one teaspoon of the carnival ride tea blend into your infuser or sachet and place into the boiled water.

• Let tea brew for 5-6 minutes. This brewing time is specific to this tea blend.

• Once brewed, pour tea into glass/mug with whiskey in it.

• Add honey if you desire a sweeter taste (I sure did!)

• Place one or two cinnamon sticks into drink and let sit for a minute

• Enjoy this "fall in a cup" drink!

Cup of Joy glass mug is available in my shop !

I chose to pair the carnival ride with the whiskey because it embodies the fall season. The blend includes apple pieces, hibiscus petals and rosehip pieces. The tea has a caramel apple taste and which creates a spiked apple cider tasting outcome.

If I were to do this recipe again, I would definitely try using a bourbon. Bourbons, especially Bulleit (mentioned earlier) have a bit of a spicy flavor that would go so perfectly with this drink!

Notes: If you choose to sweeten, don't overdue it! 

Have you tried a spiked tea drink and liked it? Share with me! 

I'm so excited to give you all the coupon code Naza15 which will give you a 15% off discount with your first online purchase from For Tea's Sake! Go out there and grab this tea and have yourself a cup of fall <3