For my tea-loving friends, a cockteal

Anyone else out there a tea drinker? I bet everyone on my English side of the family has their hands up, or rather, their mugs. In England, when you order a cup of tea (or your eggs for that matter) you rarely get asked "what kind?" or "how do you like them?". You just get a cuppa. A steaming mug of English black tea, most likely with some milk on the side. 

In the US, on the other hand, when you order eggs, you generally get asked how you like them. You also get asked, "white, wheat, rye, sourdough?" "whole milk, skim, or 2%?" and any other possible option you can image. And if you order tea, you often get to pick from a smorgasbord of choices, flavors, and caffeine levels! 

Both methods are good, really. It's nice to have many options and select exactly what you're feeling like at the moment or like the best, but sometimes, it's overwhelming. I kinda like the simplicity of ordering in England and knowing exactly what I'm getting after making one decision. However, if you look at my kitchen, and my tea selection, you'll see I'm more prone to lots of choices ;)

And who knew that tea could make a great cocktail? 

Now, before we get into how to make this tea-based cocktail, we need to take a look at Earl Grey tea. Earl Grey has been around for a long time. Since the 1820s, tea flavored with bergamot has been known in England. The initial goal was to imitate the more expensive types of Chinese tea. The Earl Grey blend, or "Earl Grey's Mixture", is assumed to be named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey and British Prime Minister in the 1830s.  Earl Grey, as applied to tea, is not a registered trademark. Numerous tea companies produce their own versions of Earl Grey tea, using a wide variety of tea leaves and additives. You might have tried or be familiar with Lady Grey, London Fog, or French Earl Grey, which are made with a traditional black tea blend. But now, as more varieties of tea such as green or rooibos are becoming more popular, Earl Grey blends are being made with these are well. (source)

I have always tended to purchase it, and love this blend by Numi. You know what Ioved about it though? The citrus hint. That amazing oil of bergamot. And as I was looking at my essential oils, my eyes fell upon my bottle of bergamot and I thought, can I make my own Earl Grey with any black tea? The answer to that is yes, but that's not the point of this post. 

The point of this post is cocktail hour...

or tea time...

or both...together

I mentioned in a previous post how I was experimenting with making essentially simple syrups, and this cocktail was the perfect one to pull out my Lavender Lemon simple syrup. These two oils meld so well with the herbal-citrus Earl Grey. So tonight, I brewed myself a cup, pulled out the Tanqueray and my shaker, and got to work! This is a perfect cocktail for a smooth, easy-drinking summer evening. Think of it as adult ice tea, but above and beyond anything from long island!

Ingredients

• 3 ounces brewed and cooled Earl Grey tea of your choice
• 1.5 ounces good gin
• 1.5 ounces Lavender Lemon Simple Syrup
• Ice
• Bergamot essential oil - optional
• Lemon rind garnish

Method

In a shaker, combine ice cubes, tea, gin simple syrup and one drop bergamot essential oil. Shake to integrate and chill. Pour over fresh ice. Garnish with lemon rind. Sit outside somewhere with good friend and great music and enjoy!
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Have you tried a tea-based cocktail? I'd love to hear your recipe! Share a comment!