The Bar Journal

Tea has been a prevalent flavour trend of late, focusing on infusing drinks with tea flavours. However, one of the big bar trend predictions for 2013 takes tea drinks into the mainstream with the rise of tea cocktails.

Absolut launched a Wild Tea variant of its vodka line in the UK in 2012, while several hard tea lines launched or extended in the United States. There is also a gin and tea fusion in the pipeline from Pernod Ricard. But now tea cocktails have been predicted as one of the biggest trends to look out for in 2013 according to British food and drink concept development company Lost In Catering. It cites the popularity of tea cocktails among celebrities as one of the biggest signs the trend is set to take off. Besides, tea adds bitterness to balance out drinks and can be infused with a base spirit or added chilled to the cocktail shaker.

Teaologist, a specialty tea blending company in Manhattan provoked headlines when they mixed up tea-infused cocktails to help the crowd at Sundance, claiming the health benefits of tea would help them avoid catching a cold. The drinks included the Coco Premiere, a Chai blend full of spices including ginger, cardamom and pepper mixed with Voli Vodka and agave. According to Jennie Ripps, Teaologist founder: “The celebs, press, and industry execs who travel to Park City for Sundance are extremely busy from the minute they land and at the same time are dealing with an altitude change and cold, dry weather. I wanted to create teas and tea mixers that helped with these conditions–both the chaos of the festival and the more extreme climate.”

Though Britain is the land of tea drinking, the trend has taken off more quickly on the American bar scene, a market much more health and calorie conscious when it comes to alcoholic drinks. However the onus with mixed tea drinks seems to be on refreshment. Parm in New York infuses Gordon’s gin with tea before mixing it with bitter and cherry. Morandi, also in New York, mixes iced tea with Absolut Citron, lemon juice and limoncello.

London bars pioneering the trend include 69 Colebrook Row, the Worship Street Whistling Stop and Hix Soho. At 69 Colebrooke Row, the team worked alongside the Rare Tea Company to develop a mix of chilled silver tip white tea with vodka that is being billed as containing anti-hangover properties. London mixologist Nick Strangeway has turned tea cocktails into a breakfast item at the high profile restaurant Hix. The Breakfast Martinis use Compass Box Whisky, a black leaf tea from the Rare Tea Co and marmalade, and is served with a side of buttered marmalade toast.

Though there is a danger with claiming any alcoholic drink is good for you, tea cocktails very much seem to be trading off the health properties of their key ingredient. As consumers’ knowledge of tea variants continue to increase and as they take more note of the calories in mixers, the popularity of tea cocktails looks set to increase too.

SALUTE!