Tea Party Ideas - Spiced Tea Recipes

To me, tea is not just a drink but an elixir. All types of teas and tisanes have their own uniqueness and are beneficial for our body in different ways. I enjoy almost every kind of tea. I love their flavors, smells and the way they soothe my body. Yet, what I love most about tea is probably the process of making it. It is a little ritual that somehow makes me feel surprisingly peaceful. I'm not talking about dipping a teabag in a cup of hot water. That is a convenient way to do it but certainly not the best method because the tea you get will not be as fragrant and rich as old-style tea made in a teapot. When it comes to making tea, I just prefer to do it old school.

I also like to serve tea when my girlfriends come to visit. We are not even slightly British but we just love to embrace the idea of the afternoon tea party. In this article, I will share with you a few spiced tea recipes that will take your tea party to a whole other level.

So bring out your teapot and strainer. It's tea time!

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp. black tea leaves
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preparation

• Boil water with cinnamon stick and cloves.
• Strain.
• Add lemon juice to the strained spiced water.
• Put tea leaves in a tea strainer and set it over a teapot.
• Pour the hot spiced water slowly through the tea leaves.

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tbsp black tea leaves
• sugar
• lemon slices

Preparation

• Put tea leaves in a warmed teapot.
• Add hot water and allow the tea to infuse for about 10 minutes.
• Put the pot on top of a samovar. We will use the tea in this teapot as tea concentrate or tea essense.
• For each serving, strain a small amount of tea essence from the teapot into a cup and add enough boiling water from the samovar to it.
• Stir well. Serve with sugar and lemon slices.

Samovars were invented in Central Asia and have been widely used in Russia, Iran, Kashmir and Turkey. An old-style samovar is a metal urn with a vertical cylinder in the center, a spigot at the base and a teapot holder at the top. It was originally used with charcoal to boil and heat water, though nowadays electric samovars have become more popular among samovar users.

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tsps. dried chamomile flowers
• 1 piece dried orange peel
• 1 tsp honey

Preparation

• Put chamomile flowers, orange peel and honey in a teapot.
• Add hot water.
• Stir, cover and let the tea infuse for about 10 minutes.
• Strain and serve.

Ingredients (for about 1 1/2 liters)

• 5 cups water
• 1/3 cup fresh, thinly sliced ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. pine nuts
• 3 walnuts, shelled, blanched and finely chopped
• 2 dates, pitted and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation

• Put water in a pot or saucepan.
• Add ginger.
• Boil for about 20 minutes.
• Strain.
• Add sugar and cinnamon.
• Serve in cups while the tea is still very hot. Add a small amount of pine nuts, walnuts and dates in each cup.

Find some superb and exotic teas that are unlikely to be available in your local stores.