Canton Tea Blog

Ali: When I was travelling around New Zealand a couple of years ago I went to a bar in Queenstown where they served cocktails in teapots; I thought it would be great to take this one step further and serve tea based cocktails in vintage teapots. This makes for a unique twist on the traditional English tea party; a cocktail party with (tea based) cocktails served in teapots and canapés served on cake stands. With the sun shining and the Olympics in full swing, there is plenty to celebrate, so feel free to borrow my idea and have yourself a very English cocktail party.

Recently people’s eyes have been opened to the delicious potential of combining tea with alcohol; In November last year the UK played host to the international gin and tea cocktail competition, where competitors made incredible cocktails using teas from Pouchong to Assam to Lapsang Souchong combined with Gin and other exotic ingredients. Not all of us are world class cocktail mixologists, but do not let this deter you from experimenting. For beginners, starting with less flavoursome spirits such as rum and vodka is a good idea, both go well with black tea and citrus fruits. Search the internet and you will find an abundance of recipes for tea cocktails, or why not try inventing your own tea cocktail using your favourite Canton tea and your tipple of choice? This may involve a bit of trial and error but the possibilities are endless. My favourite combination is a traditional Mojito mix combined with iced Earl Grey or a sweet, flavoursome green tea. However, as Canton director Edgar likes his gin, we at Canton have invented some simple but different gin and tea cocktails, why not give them a go?

Chinese Mojito

50 ml Gin
250 ml Jiaogulan 
8 cucumber slices
½ lime sliced
2 bruised Mint sprigs

• In the morning brew a pot of Jiaogulan tea (infuse 1 tbsp Jiaogulan per 200 ml of water at 90 degrees C)
• Leave to cool in the fridge for 4 hours or until completely cool.
• Pour the gin and Jiaogulan into a cocktail shaker add the cucumber, lime (squeeze a bit of the juice in) and mint then a handful of ice.
• Shake well.
• This is quite a savoury cocktail, but if you would like it a little sweeter add a dash of sugar syrup (see recipe below)
• Strain into a cold, tall glass
• Top up with ice and garnish with lime, a cucumber slice and some mint leaves.

Canton G & Tea

75 ml gin (Edgar says it needs more, so increase if necessary)
300 ml Canton Tea Co Organic Earl Grey
¼ orange sliced
½ lime sliced
100 ml bitter lemon
A dash of sugar syrup to taste (make your own sugar syrup by dissolving 1tsp of sugar in a small dash of boiling water)

• Make a nice pot of earl grey in the morning and leave to cool in the fridge for 4 hours or so (Use about 3-4 tsp loose Earl Grey or 2-3 of our Earl Grey Pyramids to make a slightly stronger than normal brew)
• Pour the gin, earl grey and bitter lemon into a cocktail shaker.
• Add the fruit (squeeze some juice in first) and a drop of sugar syrup.
• Shake well (if you like a sweeter cocktail add more sugar syrup to taste) and strain into a tall glass or a vintage tea cup.

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