Tea is served in ceremonies in Japan like wine is served in the States. In Japan, they honor the new baby born into the family with tea, steeped perfectly, and served in their finest teacups. They say a toast to the newly engaged couple with tea. They praise and give thanks to tea.
Perhaps I was meant to be born into another era. I dream of a day when tea time happens at four o’clock, every day, no matter what. All events and functions pausing for tea and cookies. We gather to socialize and perk ourselves up with the fragrant aroma of tea leaves and sweet or savory pastries to delight our senses. Our tea will be served in fine porcelain cups with a saucer to hold our tiny silver spoon.
While tea served from a teapot with a bit of honey or sugar is a delightful experience, so is creating a creamy and frothy tea latte with homemade syrups.
Do you love ordering a hot tea latte at your favorite coffee shop? You choose your favorite milk, tea, and flavored syrup. They steep it for the perfect amount of time, add just the right amount of syrup, and froth up your milk to create a magical beverage.
The secret to creating your own tea latte at home is having these syrups at the ready. Sure, you can order these, as the café’s do. But making your own is a simple process that will leave your kitchen smelling great!
Simple Syrup
Having a basic simple syrup on hand will add sweetness on the go to any flavor of tea. You can add simple syrup to cocktails, iced tea, and use it to make a quick lemonade.
Recipe: Combine one cup of water with one cup of white sugar or sugar-in-the-raw in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir once or twice. Turn off the heat immediately after boiling. Let the mixture sit until cooled. Pour into a mason jar with lid and store in the refrigerator. This syrup will last approximately one month.
Lavender Syrup
This is my favorite syrup to add to tea. Whether I am making a cold or hot tea, lavender syrup makes it better. You can make this syrup with sugar or a combination of honey and sugar. The type of lavender you add will make or break this delicious syrup. Make sure to use culinary lavender flowers. Culinary lavender is sweet while other types can taste bitter due to high levels of camphor. Choose unopened buds that are bright purple.
Recipe: This recipe calls for sugar and honey and is my favorite blend. Bring one cup of water with 4 tablespoons of culinary fresh or dried lavender flowers to a boil. Add one and a third cup of sugar and stir until it dissolves. Reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. Next, add 2 tablespoons of honey and stir. Immediately remove from the heat and steep for an hour. Strain out the lavender and pour it into a mason jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator.
Earl Grey Syrup
Not only is this syrup amazing in an earl grey and lavender blend of tea, but it’s also amazing in cocktails. You can also drizzle this syrup over cake, ice cream, and French toast.
Recipe: Boil one cup of water then remove from the heat. Add 4 tea bags of earl grey tea and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and bring the pot of tea to a slow boil. Stir in one cup of sugar until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for one hour before placing it in a jar and storing it in the refrigerator.
Ginger Syrup
You can add this syrup to lemon and black tea or a wellness tea for extra spice when fighting a cold or the flu. This syrup adds a wonderful kick to margaritas, limeade, iced tea, and an Arnold Palmer.
Recipe: Combine one cup of water with 1 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once the sugar is dissolved, add one cup of sliced and peeled ginger. Bring back up to boiling, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let ingredients sit with the lid on for about an hour. Strain out the ginger and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Know Your Gut, Trust Your Gut with simple syrup
In addition to getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy foods, and taking vitamin c, adding ginger to your daily rituals will boost your immune system. Add ginger syrup in your next cup of Know Your Gut, Trust Your Gut tea. This delicious tea is a blend of red clover, comfrey, dandelion, and cornflower petal. Steep your herbal tea overnight, adding syrup while it’s hot, for an extra-strong infusion for the most medicinal benefits. Having a cup of tea after meals will soothe digestion. Order here.
Meditative State of Mind with simple syrup
Meditative State of Mind is a blend that is tasty and soothing, helping to reduce stress and anxiety with a blend of Mint, Lavender, Chamomile, and Moringa. It’s a great tea to use for your meditative tea ritual in the evenings or during a chaotic day. Adding lavender simple syrup, while this tea is steeping, provides for more relaxing benefits, with the perfect amount of sweetness.
Trust Your Gut, Know Your Gut and Meditative State of Mind can be purchased through Amazon. For more information on You, Me and Uni, check out the website, created by Master Herbalist, Jennifer Vollbrecht. Browse the herbal tea articles on the site for more tips on adding delicious tea to your healthy lifestyle.
Anastacia Elizabeth Walden is a writer, editor and the owner of Walden Writes For Women.
