Tea Mixology
Mighty Leaf® Tea Company
Visit Mighty Leaf Tea at the Expo West trade show in Anaheim March 7 – 9 (Booth 2975 in Hall C) and sample our innovative mocktails. Satiate your senses with our whole leaf tea mixed with herbs and fruit juices to create an artisan tea experience that is easy for consumers to enjoy at home. The recipes feature Mighty Leaf Iced Tea, all natural tea made from handpicked whole tea leaves, blossoms, herbs, fruits, and spices served in our handcrafted eco-friendly tea pouch. Our perfectly proportioned (super-sized) tea pouches make it easy to fresh brew a half gallon of gourmet iced tea in less than five minutes. Available in retail stores across the U.S., our iced teas come in four flavors – Calypso Mango, Ginger Peach, Organic Black, Sunburst Green. Stop by our booth and refresh yourself with a Green Sunburst Virgin Mojito.
Mighty Leaf Tea develops customized drink solutions, both cocktails and mocktails, to fit the demographics, themes, or cuisine of restaurants and hotels that carry our luxurious tea. Among our high profile clients are Nordstrom, Square, and Bloomingdale’s. Infusing tea into craft cocktails is all the rage and Mighty Leaf Tea (www.mightyleaf.com) would like to share some tips on how to create complex cocktails that are surprisingly simple to make using our favorite ingredient, tea.
How to Make Tea Infused Cocktails
There are four ways to make tea infused cocktails – infuse spirits or simple syrup with tea, add iced tea to cocktails, or add tea-based ice cubes to cocktails. We prefer infusing spirits with tea because it produces a full bodied cocktail and the infusion is shelf-stable . Steep tea pouches or loose tea in alcohol for about 2 hours. We recommend four Mighty Leaf pouches per 750ml of spirits or 1 tea pouch per 6 oz of spirits. The longer steeping time is needed because tea pouches are designed to be infused in hot liquid but here the spirits are room temperature. We recommend an infusion time of 2 – 3 hours, but no more, to avoid the bitter taste of tannins.
Another method would be to steep a tea pouch in hot water, chill, and then prepare your cocktail. This is not our preferred method because we find this dilutes the drink. Tea can also be used to infuse simple syrup, either house-made or bottled. If house-made, sugar is dissolved in hot water. Turn off the heat and then infuse your simple syrup for 5 minutes for all but green tea. For green tea, let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes, and then add the tea pouch. Steep only 3 minutes for green tea. For the final method, prepare hot tea then freeze it into small ice cubes and add one your cocktail. To avoid dilution, the tea-based ice cube should be the only ice used to prepare your cocktail.
Gin mixes well with Earl Grey and Chamomile. Gin is made with juniper and botanicals. Juniper has a bitter taste of citrus, rosemary, and pine-essence. Botanicals are another word for dried herbs and spices like cinnamon, citrus peels, peach, cloves, green tea leaves, coriander, nutmeg and more. The full flavored taste of Earl Grey can hold its own when infused in gin and the citrusy taste of its bergamot brings out the citrus in the gin. Another way to play up the citrus in the gin is to infuse it with Chamomile Citrus by Mighty Leaf Tea. This herbal infusion is an all-star cast of orange peels, chamomile flowers, rosehip peels, lemongrass, hibiscus, spearmint and more.
Tea turns vodka into an exotic spirit. Vodka’s claim to fame is its lack of flavor. Tea can be used to change all that. There are lots of cocktails that call for citrus vodka. Make your own by steeping four Mighty Leaf Tea Chamomile Citrus tea pouches in vodka for 2 – 3 hours. Or spike your Arnold Palmer by mixing chilled Mighty Leaf Tea Organic Earl Grey with lemon vodka. We like the idea of a peach cocktail but we are not fans of messy muddling. What about steeping White Orchard by Mighty Leaf Tea in vodka to infuse the spirit with peach, melon, and the delicate notes of white tea?
Pair floral teas with floral liqueurs. We love the pairing of Organic African Nectar by Mighty Leaf Tea with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, with a dash of cranberry and pineapple juice. Pair earthy tea with earthy spirits. The earthy taste of pu-erh tea, which is reminiscent of a dark beer, pairs well with bourbon.
Included below are three of our favorite cocktails. Please visit us on Pinterest for over 100 more!
Earl Grey Infused Martini
Ingredients:
- 4 Mighty Leaf Tea Organic Earl Grey tea pouches
- 750ml bottle of vodka
- ¼ oz cassis
- Ice
Directions:
Steep Mighty Leaf Tea Organic Earl Grey tea pouches in a 750ml bottle of vodka for 2 hours. In a shaker, add 1 ½ ounces of the Earl Grey infused vodka and cassis. Strain over ice into a martini glass and top with 1 oz club soda.
Pink Sunset
Ingredients:
- 4 Mighty Leaf Tea Ginger Twist tea pouches
- 750ml bottle of vodka
- 1 ½ oz. cranberry juice
- Ice
Directions:
Steep 4 Ginger Twist tea pouches in a 750ml bottle of vodka for 2 hours. In a shaker, add 1 ½ ounces ginger-tea infused vodka and cranberry juice. Strain over ice and serve in a tall glass.
Mango Creamsicle
Ingredients:
- 4 Mighty Leaf Tea Organic African Nectar tea pouches
- 750ml bottle of vodka
- 4 ½ oz fresh lemonade
- Splash mango simple syrup
- Ice
Optional: fresh mango for garnish
Directions:
Steep Organic African Nectar tea pouches in vodka for 3 hours. In a shaker combine tea/vodka combination, fresh lemonade, and a splash of mango syrup. Strain over ice and serve in a tall glass and garnish with mango.
About Mighty Leaf
Mighty Leaf Tea is a family-owned company created by husband-and-wife team Gary Shinner and Jill Portman, who turned into reality their dream of infusing new life into the ancient indulgence of tea. Our all natural tea is an artistic blend of hand-picked whole leaf tea, blossoms, herbs, fruits, and spices. Our vibrant leaves and blossoms are too big for ordinary tea bags, so we designed our own silken, artisan Tea Pouches™. We hand-stitch them with unbleached cotton, without using glue or staples. Satiate your senses with our wonderfully full and nuanced flavors and intoxicating aromas. We’re social:
https://www.facebook.com/mightyleaftea
http://pinterest.com/mightyleaf/
http://www.youtube.com/user/MightyLeafTea
