The Journal · Summer
Five teas, five mocktails
The summer menu. No shaker, no alcohol, no fuss. Just tea that knows how to dress for the evening.
There's a moment on a warm evening when a mug feels wrong. You want something cold, something with a bit of occasion to it. The kind of drink that arrives in the right glass and makes the evening feel decided. Usually that job goes to wine. It doesn't have to.
Every tea on this menu started life as one of our blends. Cold brewed, they turn into something else entirely: clearer, softer, naturally sweet, with no sugar syrup doing the heavy lifting. Four of the five are caffeine free, so they'll carry you well past nine o'clock without consequences.
One method, five drinks
Cold brew asks almost nothing of you. Two heaped teaspoons of tea per 500ml of cold water, into a bottle or jug, into the fridge, overnight. Eight hours later, strain and build. In a hurry? Brew it hot at double strength, then pour straight over a full glass of ice. That's the whole technique. Everything below is just assembly.
The recipes
The tea bellini
- 150ml cold brew Peach Bellini Bubbles, well chilled
- 100ml sparkling water, straight from the fridge
- One thin peach slice
Pour the cold brew into a flute, top gently with sparkling water, slide the peach down the inside of the glass. The blend brings its own sweetness. Resist the urge to add any.
Hibiscus margarita
- 200ml cold brew Hibiscus Flowers, brewed strong (three teaspoons per 500ml)
- Juice of half a lime, plus a wedge for the rim
- One teaspoon of agave, or to taste
- Flaky salt, ice
Run the lime wedge round the rim and dip it in salt. Stir the cold brew, lime and agave over ice, then strain into the glass. It's the deepest red in our shop and it photographs like nothing else we make.
The cucumelon no-jito
- 150ml cold brew Cucumelon
- Six mint leaves, one lime cut into wedges
- Soda water, crushed ice
Muddle the mint and two lime wedges in the bottom of a tall glass. Press, don't pulverise. Pack with crushed ice, pour over the cold brew, top with soda. The cucumber and melon do the refreshing; the mint just signs its name.
Piña tea-lada
- 150ml cold brew Pineapple Pleasure Party
- 75ml chilled coconut water
- A pineapple wedge, plenty of ice
Shake the cold brew and coconut water with ice if you have a jar with a lid; stir them if you don't. Pour into the curviest glass you own. This is the one drink on the menu with a little caffeine in it: the black tea base is what gives it backbone.
The Friday grove fizz
- 150ml cold brew Orange Vanilla Grove
- 75ml soda water
- A strip of orange peel, cubed ice
Build it over ice in a short glass, top with soda, then twist the orange peel over the top so the oils land on the surface before dropping it in. Orange and vanilla over ice tastes like the week ending properly. This is the one we reach for at six o'clock on a Friday. It's the reason this menu exists at all.
If you make one of these, or invent your own, we want to see it. Reply to any of our emails with a photo of your glass, or tag us on Instagram. The best serve we're sent this summer earns a place on the next menu, with your name on it.
Every tea on this menu is in the shop now. Pick your serve, brew tonight, drink tomorrow.
Shop the summer menuOr let the teas come to you: explore the Boteane subscription experience.
JoJo