The world’s second most popular beverage, tea, is quickly becoming more popular with cocktail lovers.
Second only to water in the drinks popularity chart, the drink has many variations, from the traditional British ‘cuppa’ to a Chinese lapsang. However, it is now starting to be regularly used as a liqueur in a number of cocktails.
Noveltea, a brand of liqueurs was launched last September and has sold more than 10,000 bottles, one of which featured as ‘Gin of the Month’ in March for retailer John Lewis. German friends Vincent Efferoth and Lukas Passia founded the company two years after moving to the UK to study at Newcastle University.
After extensive research, the pair found that combining tea with alcohol was greeted with enthusiasm, so they began to develop Noveltea. The two flavours that have so far been created are The Tale of Earl Grey, which combines Earl Grey tea with gin, and the Tale of Tangier, a mix of rum and Moroccan mint tea.
It took over 450 attempts to get the flavours right, as they wanted the authentic tea flavour to shine through. A third flavour is currently being developed and is likely to be a blend of Chinese Oolong tea with a different spirit to gin and rum. Passia explains:
“I think alcoholic teas are a trend that is just about to start or is just recently starting, and the UK will be at the forefront. I hope it’s going to replace the gin trend.”
Trendy drinks are often enjoyed in equally trendy vessels, with engraved cocktail glasses and engraved flutes being popular choices.
