What is Tea Liqueur?

 

A cuppa or cup of tea is one of the nations favourite drinks. Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring cold, hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia Sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to China, India and other East Asian countries.

These tea leaves are steeped, which means ‘to soak’ either loose or in bags. The length of time it takes to steep tea ranges from a few seconds, to minutes and even hours dependant on steeping method as not all teas are the same. There aren’t any ideal steeping times as these steeping methods differ and so does the results which can produce smoother brews that are higher in antioxidants.

There are many different types of tea, ranging from black tea to green tea, Oolong or white, Pu-reh and herbal teas. Surprisingly all teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant. But each of these teas vary in look, taste, geographical region and like wine, climate, soil and how the tea is processed attributes to their unique and distinct flavours.

A liqueur is spirit based often using rectified* spirits with added flavourings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, spices or even tea and coffee. Flavourings can be added by different processes such as maceration, infusion or distillation.

A Tea Liqueur (Camellia, Camellia Decaf or Ryokucha) is a sweetened alcoholic tea flavoured drink which can be served neat over ice. Due to it’s sweetness and lower alcoholic content it is also used as an essential ingredient in cocktails such as a Camellia Royale, NaughTEA or GT & T. Sometimes Tea Liqueur is referred to as Alcoholic Tea but regardless of name Tea Liqueurs are certainly growing in popularity. This is driven by our curiosity for adventure and exploring more interesting and unique flavours with the desire for something new. After all wouldn’t you prefer a GT & T rather than a G & T?

It’s time to join the Tea Liqueur revolution!

*Rectified spirit also known as neutral spirit, is highly concentrated ethanol which has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. 

Liqueur vs. Liquor

Liqueur and Liquor are different alcoholic drinks, although both are spirit based, a liqueur is sweet by nature which differentiates the two as liquor is just a spirit, like Vodka, Whisky or Gin for example.

Liqueurs are generally lower in alcoholic content typically ranging from 15 to 30% VOL vs. 30% and above for liquor.