Cheers to Tea Time: 5 Tasty Alcoholic Teas for Your Next Celebration

Having a cup of tea with a meal or a quick snack is one of life's simple pleasures – so much so that it merits its own celebration, such as National Tea Day. Drinking tea is a ritual embedded in many cultures. Tea culture apparently dates back to 2737 BC in China, according to legend, but there are now so many fashionable flavours to be found worldwide such as fruit teas and caffeinated or non-caffeinated tea varieties which go beyond the traditional builders tea or dreaded tasteless milky teas! There is truly a type of tea for everyone these days and that includes cocktail lovers too as there are tea infused cocktails to satisfy most tastes.

Believe it or not, but there are tea cocktails to suit each stage of your dining experience from eating starters right the way through to indulging in desserts! If that piques your interest (and why wouldn’t it), here are five alcoholic teas that will absolutely satisfy both tea drinkers and cocktail lovers alike!

Tios Hard Tea Light & Stormy

Tios hard tea is a sparkling tea infused entry in the RTD (ready to drink) cocktails market and is designed to be drunk on the go! It is made with organic white tea with a twist to provide a variation of your favourite cocktails such as Dark and Stormy. This rum based tea cocktail is a light brown colour which would look familiar to ice tea lovers with an intense ginger flavour profile providing that tangy sensation on the nose and palate. Well blended without being sugary, this is a vegan certified product that will go well by your side at afternoon tea and summer festivals as an aperitif!

Size: 250ml
ABV: 4.4%
Price: £16.99 for 6 cans

Riddles Mango Ice Tea

A sparkling ice tea rum blend that is slightly orange tinged and infused with Nigerian Moringa tea. According to folklore, there are health benefits associated with drinking Moringa tea and this works well with the fruity mango flavour to produce an easy drinking, light cocktail without reducing the flavour! It is so smoothly blended that neither the rum nor the tea dominate, but then again that will make it ideal to pair with the well-seasoned Caribbean Sunday dinner of rice, peas and chicken!

Size: 250ml
ABV: 4%
Price: £2

Masons of Yorkshire, Tea Edition

Tea drinkers and gin lovers will rejoice with this ideal combination of flavours for the Tea Edition of this gin! Mason’s Tea Edition blends dry Yorkshire tea with the botanicals and juniper flavours from the gin profile. It will be an excellent drink for both cosy nights in, as the warmth and alcohol strength will keep the cold weather at bay, and it will be suitable for the spring and summer climates too with its refreshing citrus and slightly sweeter taste. Look no further, If you are seeking that Trou Normand as that palate cleanser between dishes - this Tea Edition would be good for that or you could simply have it as a shot or on the rocks, as we said - it will please many!

Size: 700ml
ABV: 42%
Price: £33.95

Noveltea Whisky & Oolong Tea

Coming on to that after dinner time, when you might still be craving a night cap, this tea liqueur from Noveltea combines whisky with the lighter, fruity oolong tea variety. This is a boozy cocktail which is best served chilled with ice. It is as dark in colour as a traditional Scotch whisky, but without the high alcohol content! Smooth on the mouth, without being overpowering, with a subtle, smoky whisky aroma and a hint of lemon – this digestif combination is a natural partnership that will make you want more as the night draws to a close!

Size: 500ml
ABV: 15%
Price: £27.50

Tipsy Tea Spiced Chai

You might enjoy having a cuppa before bed and this spiced chai liqueur is perfect for those cosy moments to unwind at home. Packed full of spices, this alcoholic tea is designed to be mixed – you can be adventurous and try it hot or cold! Simply add a shot of hot water or sparkling cold water with a slice of lemon and away you go! Its golden colour also provides that sense of warmth in this fruity blend which tastes just like a herbal tea but with that added kick! It’s the perfect drink for catching up with the gossip with friends after that night out or dinner party!

Size: 350ml
ABV: 20%
Price: £15

Even if you may not be a regular tea drinker, these alcoholic teas explore its versatility for all meal times, tastebuds and special occasions. These will definitely satisfy those cocktail lovers searching for a lighter but flavourful alternative to their favourite cocktails and for tea drinkers seeking the tea version of an Irish coffee! The burning question now is – which boozy tea will you try first?

If you want to make some of your own boozy tea combinations, here are some suggestions to get you started.

By Latoya Austin

Which Alcohol Mixes Well With Tea?

We don’t often think of tea and alcohol as having much of an overlap, but maybe we should. Bartenders have been experimenting with tea in cocktails for a while now, embracing the deep and diverse flavours of all kinds of teas, as well as the refreshing qualities, caffeine, and health benefits.

Most spirits have quite intense and distinct flavours, and it’s often the same with teas, so randomly mixing them together is likely to be a waste of good liquid – though you might strike gold, who knows! There are, however, some well known tea and booze marriages that show what a dreamy and complementary pairing the two can be… and these are a few you can easily try!

When mixing tea with alcohol, you can serve it hot as you usually would with tea, or you can infuse it hot and let it cool, or you can cold brew – it’s up to your personal preference and the ingredients you’re using.

You can make tea as you usually would and treat it as another cocktail ingredient, or in its simplest form, just add alcohol to your tea, but at a slightly more advanced level, you can infuse tea into spirits, or syrups or even embrace the cold distillation techniques – all the information on those can be found here.

Black Tea and Dark Rum

Black tea, most famously English breakfast, is a great pairing with rum. The natural caramelly sweetness of the rum pairs well with the earthy, bitter flavour of black tea. It’s such a complimentary pairing that there are already a few established cocktails marrying the two. Fish House Punch, with black tea, Cognac, dark rum, and peach brandy, is a particularly boozy serve. A simpler cocktail is the Planter’s Punch, which often includes black tea instead of water, combined with dark rum and a little lime juice and syrup. There is also Gunfire, a legendary morning cocktail in the British Army of the 1890s that mixes one shot of rum into a regular cuppa. Oh, and a little tip. You might not want the caffeine of black tea in the evening, but rooibos is a very similar, slightly smokier tea that’s caffeine free, so try this!

Green Tea and Whisky

Japanese whisky, Irish whiskey, and American whiskey are all regularly mixed with green tea. Whilst it’s a slight shame to taint the endless health benefits of green tea, the vegetal and grassy flavours really add to many whiskies. The end result is a refreshing, breezier number with increased citrus notes. A simple Green Tea Highball with Japanese whisky, green tea and club soda is a great place to start.

Chamomile Tea and Gin

Flower power. The floral and herbaceous heart of both chamomile and (many) gins is a perfect marriage. You’ll find that the notes in the chamomile enhance the botanical complexity of floral and herbaceous gins, and also soften any sharpness. A really simple pitcher style cocktail you can make is by making some chamomile tea (either with tea bags or through flowers in water), and straining the cool mixture with gin, lemon juice, honey, and ice – how deliciously bright and breezy does that sound?

White Tea and Vodka

White tea is one of the most delicate and refreshing teas. It’s well known for its gentle honey notes and mellow flavours like apricot, peach, oats, hay, and flowers. You could pair this with a very subtle floral gin or perhaps even white rum, but they run the risk of overwhelming it. The neutrality and cleanliness of good vodka can be an interesting match to try, sucking you in with the gentle refreshment of the tea, and whacking you with a hearty hit of vodka. Infusing vodka with white tea would be a good way to go (you can simply leave tea leaves or tea bags with vodka for a few hours then strain). This way, you can make a simple white tea Vodka Martini, perhaps combining with some aromatic ingredients like elderflower liqueur and edible flowers.

The Hot Tea Toddy

The most famous way of combining tea and alcohol is in the form of Hot Toddies. We’ve listed some amazing variations of the Hot Toddy here, and it’s easy to see how tea can be introduced. It’s already a winter warmer, made most classically with whisky, hot water, lemon juice and usually honey and cinnamon too. But, with other ingredients like ginger, cider, gin, rum and apple juice often involved in riffs, there are plentiful opportunities for tea to bring something to the party. Ginger tea, bourbon whiskey, honey and lemon juice is a super warming, spicy, rich favourite. The tea you use will emphasise different elements of the Toddy – the citrus, the honey, the spices, or the spirit itself. At the end of the day, if you think a tea that you love might go well with a spirit, then serve it warm and combine with citrus, honey, spices and see – you might surprise yourself!

Similar but slightly different, you can also make any of your favourite teas into syrups. Syrups are simply water and sugar, and of course you can swap out water for tea. Check out our homemade syrups guide here!

Brew-tiful Blends: Elevating Cocktails with the Power of Tea

Cuppas and cocktails, is there anything we like more? Well, how about them together? We’ve been exploring tea-infused cocktails and boy can they elevate a creation to that next level. From floral refreshment to soothing spice, these are some of our favourite tea cocktails, hot and cold, that you should definitely experiment with if you haven’t already! Let’s get the kettle on...

Jasmine Fizz

The Jasmine Fizz just gets more and more delicious with each ingredient. Delightfully refreshing, it combines the floral notes of jasmine tea with the effervescence of sparkling wine. Elderflower continues this natural and aromatic profile, with fresh lemon to cut through and add some zip. One of those cocktails that you feel invigorated drinking.

Ingredients

60ml jasmine tea-infused gin
30ml elderflower liqueur
15ml fresh lemon juice
15ml simple syrup/honey
60ml sparkling wine
Lemon twist (garnish)

 Method
Okay, so the gin. We recommend testing on a smaller amount first, but you’ll need to sit the jasmine teabags in the gin for at least 1 hour. After this, just shake everything with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Lemon or beautiful jasmine flowers for garnish and voila, a cocktail that will really impress.

Aperol Tea Spritz

Sparkling teas like these stunners work wonderfully well in place of sparkling wine in cocktails, and this Aperol Tea Spritz is a perfect example. LYSERØD is one of the driest sparkling teas out there, and those Rosé notes and smooth White Tea pair nicely with the Aperol. There are so many combinations you could try, so experiment with sparkling teas in your favourite Spritzers.

Ingredients
100ml Aperol
150ml sparkling tea (something like LYSERØD by Copenhagen)

Method
Pour both over ice – there really is nothing else to it. Relax and enjoy.

G&Tea

Adding teabags to Gin and Tonics has been a bit of a thing in Scandinavia for a while, but adding an elegant sparkling tea instead of the tonic and teabag separately makes a hell of a lot more sense if you ask us. This is a really fresh way to mix up the usual G&T for something just as clean and pure, but with more botanical depth. Just pick a tea with mild flavour and mix with your favourite gin.

Ingredients
50ml gin
100ml sparkling tea (something like Jing Jasmine Pearls)
Angostura bitters (optional)
Honey (optional)

Method
Make it as you would a regular G&T, simply combining the two. Obviously tonic is more neutral than tea, so if you want some bitterness add Angostura drops, or if you want a dash more sweetness go for a touch of honey.

Hot Chai Toddy

The addition of spiced black chai to the winter warmer that is the Hot Toddy adds deliciously comforting warmth and deep spice, complementing the whisky well. With the earthy tea, fresh lemon and touch of honey, there is an almost medicinal quality to this cocktail that harks back to the Hot Toddy’s roots.

Ingredients
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
100ml-150ml hot water
1 black chai teabag
35ml whisky
1 clove (optional)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Lemon wheel (garnish)

Method
Grab your favourite mug or handled glass and pour the hot water over the tea. Mix in the honey, whisky, and lemon until everything has merged. Chuck in the clove and the cinnamon for even more warmth. Cup in your hands and let it soothe your soul!

Birds and Bees

From Juan Coronado of The Bazaar comes this delicious cocktail using a chamomile-honey syrup to mellow the fresh lemon juice and complement a good quality gin. It’s another tea cocktail that feels clean and delicate, but with punchy gin at the heart of it. Tasty.

 Ingredients
50ml gin
30ml chamomile-honey syrup
25ml fresh lemon juice
10ml lime juice
For the syrup: 1 chamomile teabag and 15ml honey (you might want to make a bigger batch though)

Method
All the effort here is in that syrup, which is actually very simple to make. Make chamomile tea as usual and dissolve honey into it, before cooling at room temp. Then, combine everything in a shaker with ice, strain, and sip! Nom.

Green, Ginger, and Gold

Cognac is a surprisingly tasty pairing with green tea, and of course ginger so this is a gorgeously fresh and alive cocktail merging them. With fresh mint too, there is a refreshing and soothing quality, as well as rich warmth and spice and earthiness. You could try this warm or chilled, it’s up to you but we’re going for chilled this time.

 Ingredients
3 pieces fresh ginger
2 mint leaves
15ml syrup
30ml cognac (VS or VSOP)
60ml chilled green tea

Method
Muddle syrup, mint leaves and ginger with cognac and fresh, chilled green tea. Once the flavours are infused, strain into a glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with a mint leaf for that final touch.

There are so many cocktails you could make with sparkling teas in particular, so check out these! If any cocktail recipes use sparkling wines like Rosé or Prosecco, then give these a go instead.