One of our featured teas for the May subscription box was Sea Breeze, a herbal blend from Aromatica Fine Teas. We fell in love with this tea. It's a sweet citrus infusion with hints of spicy ginger, refreshing mint and delicious apple. Sounds amazing, right?
It was amazing as a hot tea, so as the weather warmed up, we decided to cold-steep it. The result was a delicious, naturally sweet and mellow iced tea to sip on all day long. We got to thinking.. what else can we create with this tea? A cocktail. Definitely a cocktail.
We thought about infusing the tea right into vodka or adding the cold brewed tea as the liquid in the cocktail, but the winning idea was to make a Sea Breeze simple syrup. And boy are we happy about that decision. The simple syrup is incredible! It's perfect to sweeten a typical mojito, or to add to a simple vodka soda.
The best part is that the simple syrup is versatile! We ended up adding it to sparkling water to make a refreshing non-alcoholic tea spritzer and we drizzle some on our homemade turmeric ice cream. So.. have we sold you on making this tea simple syrup?
Here's the recipe:
Sea Breeze Herbal Tea Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup cane sugar or coconut sugar
4 - 5 tbsp of Sea Breeze herbal tea
In a saucepan, bring the water and tea just to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Simmer for about 5 minutes, keeping your eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too hot and bubble over. Turn off the heat and let the tea steep for 5 more minutes.
Strain off the tea leaves and let the simple syrup cool. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Now, here's the drink we created on the fly. It was seriously delicious. You'll be the patio party favourite with this one.
Sea Breeze Herbal Tea Spritzer
Sea Breeze Herbal Tea Syrup
1/2 a lime
Mint leaves
Sparkling water
Place a thin slice of lime and a couple mint leaves in the bottom of a glass. Muddle to extract the flavour. Fill your glass with ice, another two slices of lime and a few more mint leaves. Fill your glass with sparkling water and add a tablespoon of the Sea Breeze syrup. Stir and enjoy. That's it!
Make it boozy with an oz of vodka or gin.
Is it a simple iced tea you're looking for? Our go-to method is the cold steep method we've talked about before. Here's a recap:
Cold Brew Tea
Fill a mason jar with a litre of filtered water. Add 8 tsp of Sea Breeze herbal tea (that's 2 teaspoons per cup, or double strength). Stick the mason jar in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Strain off the tea leaves. To serve, you can pour over a few ice cubes and sweeten with liquid sweetener (like the Sea Breeze tea syrup!).
If you make Sea Breeze with the cold brew method, the flavour will be more mellow, but really pleasant, naturally sweet, citrusy with subtle ginger spice.
There you have it, multiple ways to enjoy one of May's feature teas, Sea Breeze. Remember, this is a herbal tea, so go nuts and stay hydrated all day long. You can order this tea in our online shop.
What's your favourite summer tea drink? Let us know in the comments below!
