Plenty of eating and drinking takes place throughout the two-week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Tea – copious amounts of it – is what is typically drunk during the many festive gatherings, but those looking to mix things up a bit might want to try sparkling tea cocktails.
To that end, Charlie Winkworth-Smith and Natalie Chiu, co-founders of sparkling tea brand Saicho, have worked with Noah Villeneuve, a low- and no-alcohol drinks specialist in the UK, to create a series of Lunar New Year-inspired cocktails.
“After talking and working with numerous talented mixologists, we have learnt that [sparkling tea] makes an innovative and versatile ingredient for cocktails,” Winkworth-Smith says.
Chiu adds that sparkling tea cocktails create more options for food pairing.
Why tea cocktails are my drink of summer 2023 in Hong Kong
Why tea cocktails are my drink of summer 2023 in Hong Kong
“When looking for inspiration for hosting gatherings at home, we know our consumers and want to surprise and delight their guests with something new and creative.
“This range of cocktails is a great way to add something new and be the host everyone talks about this season.”
Try your hand at these six Year of the Dragon-inspired tea cocktails from Saicho.
1. Fortuned Fashioned
5ml apricot syrup
75ml Saicho Darjeeling
50ml whisky (or non-alcoholic whisky)
2 dashes aromatic orange bitters
Add the apricot syrup directly into a tumbler, then follow with the whisky, orange bitters and Saicho Darjeeling. Stir until the liquids are combined and add a large ice cube (or a handful of smaller ones) to fill the tumbler glass.
2. Bittersweet Beginnings
50ml Saicho Darjeeling
25ml bourbon whisky
15ml Campari
10ml dry vermouth
10ml sweet vermouth
Add all the ingredients into a stirring glass or Boston shaker, fill with ice and stir for 15-20 seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe glass and drop a cherry in for the final touch.
3. Lychee Lantern
75ml Saicho Jasmine
50ml white rum (or non-alcoholic white rum)
20ml lychee juice
10ml agave syrup
15ml apple cider vinegar
25ml aquafaba
Add all of the ingredients except the Saicho Jasmine into a Boston shaker, fill with cubed ice and shake as hard as you can for 10 seconds. This will activate the aquafaba and create a nice foamy texture and head on the drink.
Add the Saicho Jasmine and use a Hawthorne strainer on the shaker, and a fine strainer in your other hand, to strain into a chilled coupe glass to finish the cocktail.
4. Pearls of Wisdom
75ml Saicho Jasmine
35ml blanco tequila
15ml crème de cassis
15ml lime juice
10ml ginger syrup
Add all the ingredients except the Saicho Jasmine into a Boston shaker, fill it with ice and shake until it is cold to the touch. Add in the Saicho Jasmine. Fill a highball glass with cubed ice and then strain the cocktail over.
5. Sesame 75
10ml apple cider vinegar
10ml apple juice
10ml ginger syrup
75ml Saicho Hojicha
1 splash sesame oil
In a chilled flute, combine the apple cider vinegar, apple juice, ginger syrup and Saicho Hojicha and gently stir, being careful not to agitate the cocktail too much and create too much fizz.
Once mixed, delicately drop a splash of sesame oil directly from the bottle to sit on top of the liquid. You can also use a teaspoon to drop this in.
6. Saicho Sherry Sling
75ml Saicho Hojicha
5ml peated whisky
35ml Manzanilla sherry
10ml hazelnut syrup
15ml lemon juice
Add sherry, syrup, whisky and lemon juice to a wine glass and give a quick stir to combine. Add cubed ice to the top of the glass, top with Saicho Hojicha, and stir again to combine. Garnish with a lemon slice and edible flowers.
