Tea Recipes for Fun Loving Tea People

There are so many teas and even more tea idea to make sure you enjoy your tea experience. This section of our website is to encourage you and your guests to enjoy tea made in a variety of ways so you can always offer something new to your family and friends.

There are literally hundreds of teas - from the tea plant camila sinensis we have green tea, black tea in all varieties, including Darjeeling, Ceylon, Orange Pekoe, etc. etc. You can even buy these teas enhanced with different flavours - from lavender to pomegranite! Herbal teas (sometimes called tisanes) are made by pouring boiling water onto herbs - be it chamomile for chamomile tea or peppermint, for example. You can spice up these teas any way you want to. Tea ideas will pop into your head all the time once you get started. Chamomile tea is great served iced in the summer with the spring of mint and a slice of lemon. We encourage you to try out different ideas.  If you're like me, you'll often find tea drinks in supermarkets and it's fun to create something similar but healthier yourself - it's much cheaper too!

When my children were small, I didn't want them drinking sodas with harmful sugar substitutes and carbonated fizz. So I came up with this idea which proved very welcome at any time - in fact I often served it at birthday parties.  As the tea is red, I named it Fire Brigade Tea, which was another reason for its popularity with children. In fact this tea is still a family favorite!

Fire Brigade Tea

For 1 litre of tea:

2 teabags of hibiscus tea

3/4 litre of boiling water

1/4 litre of orange juice, freshly pressed is best

Simply pour boiling water over the hibiscus tea bags and leave to steep.  Almost immediately you will see the red colour swirling out.  The longer you leave it in, the stronger it will be.  5 to 10 minutes is fine but feel free to leave it for an hour if you want to.

Leave the tea to cool.  Add orange juice and chill in the fridge.

Serve in a nice tall jug with ice and slices of orange and/or lemon.

I never found the need to sweeten it, as the orange juice adds a sweet contrast to the tart hibiscus.  However, if you want added sweetness, try raw honey or stevia.

Also don't be fooled that just kids like it.  Everyone I've served it to enjoyed it.  You can serve it hot, but I personally prefer the iced version, especially in the summer.  It really is perfect for a party as it just looks a treat.

Kinder Punch

Make double the quantity of the above fire brigade tea.  Peel 5 oranges and cut into small pieces and put in the punch bowl with crushed ice. Pour over the cold fire brigade tea and serve.  Add more fruit if you like - diced apples go well with this too and even strawberries, when in season.  Just like the tea, this punch goes down well with adults too....