Tea is like denim — classic, universally appreciated, and won’t go out of style anytime soon due to its versatilitea. And, in addition to its various cultural significances and many health benefits, tea is straight-up delicious.
It’s delicious, and fun to experiment with, too. Just by adding a bit of spice here, a pinch of sweetness there — and if you’re 21+, a swig of the good stuff — you can easily create a truly unique drink. Obviously we’re enamored with the idea of a tea cocktail, given our history as self-proclaimed ‘alcohol auteurs,’ so we conceptualized three to share with our fellow tea lovers (call it hospitalitea). We looked to a few of the top tea-drinking countries in the world for inspiration.
To put a twist on the iconic “London Fog,” we combine earl grey with gin, vanilla and lavender to create a drinkable homage to the UK. India sparked an idea of uniting spicy chai with sweet condensed milk and dark rum to yield a Masala Chai Toddy. And you can’t have a conversation about tea without mentioning Japan; known for their use of green teas in both everyday and traditional senses, we paired it with sake, lemon juice, and ginger to build the “Gurīnmashīn.”
However you may take your cup of tea, just be sure that it’s qualitea… and that’s exactly what you’ll get with these toddy recipes.
Masala Chai Toddy
Ingredients
Instructions
Brew Chai tea with crushed cardamom and let steep for 4-8 minutes.
Add the condensed milk, followed by the dark rum. Mix well.
Using a fine sieve, strain the liquid into a glass. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and crushed cardamom.
The Foggy London
Ingredients
Instructions
Brew Earl Grey tea with milk and let it steep for 4-8 minutes.
Combine all of the above ingredients with 2 sprigs of lavender and mix well. Garnish with lavender.
Gurnmashn
Ingredients
Instructions
Brew Green tea with ginger. Let it steep 4-8 minutes.
Add simple syrup, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, and sake.
Combine the above with the tea in a glass, and mix well. Garnish with mint sprigs.