Cool and refreshing

Many of us are overjoyed when we can gradually confine our winter clothing back in the wardrobe because temperatures are on the rise. It is summer and sunshine that are now ready to emerge from the closet, inviting us to look forward to those warm days when the weather means we can spend alfresco evenings in the company of good friends. At the same time, there are those who may become somewhat wistful as the cold days recede into the past - after all, what can be more comforting than to curl up on the living room sofa with a blanket and cup of hot tea when it is bitter cold outside.

But the end of one season heralds the arrival of another – the teas in our Avoury range are not just perfect for cold winter evenings but also for those hot summer days. A glass of one of our fruit teas, in the form of iced tea, tea punch or a flavoursome mocktail, will undoubtedly hit the spot. After you’ve prepared your tea perfectly with the help of the Avoury One® tea machine, all then required are a few additional touches to turn it into a refreshing cold drink that will beat that summer thirst. In the following, we’ll tell what to do - it is really very simple!

We hope you do not have the impression that you effectively only have the choice between, say, a cup of hot hibiscus tea or a straightforward iced peach tea; that is anything but the case because of all the many tea varieties offered by Avoury! In fact, all our fruit teas and even our black teas, green teas and herbal teas can be readily employed as components in countless different beverage creations based on tea. These might include an iced hibiscus tea with added fruits or a tastefully composed elderflower tea punch - where there’s a will, there’s a way to create that perfect tea drink. Next, we’ll give you a few refreshing examples - it’s teatime but with ice! If you’d like a bit more inspiration when it comes to iced teas, then just click here.

It is just as easy as it sounds to make iced tea - the name itself tells you the two most important ingredients. Simply prepare the required volume of tea - such as DARK PEACH - using the Avoury One and then add ice cubes - et voilà! DARK PEACH is especially suited to be consumed chilled as it combines the specific characteristics of a classic black tea-based iced drink with the flavours of mango and peach. You’ll find the result is a much more delectable alternative to the iced teas you can buy in the supermarket that are often far too sweet. Instead of sweetness, in our Avoury teas we exploit the natural flavours of ingredients such as apple, hibiscus, peach and elderflower; the flavour you select will determine the taste journey you will go on.

If you want to prepare larger quantities of iced tea (to serve at a party, for example), then just repeat the instructions above until you have enough, and transfer the freshly brewed fruit tea to a suitable container and store it in the fridge. You might decide that your homemade fruit tea could do with a bit more flavour, in which case you could add lemon juice or a touch of our RAW CANE SUGAR. This will give a boost to the original sweetness of the fruit without making the flavour seem unnatural. Now back in the fridge and serve when needed.

Your self-made iced tea will not only sweeten the rest of your day, but will stay fresh in the fridge for at least two to three days. An iced tea combination such as this will help tea lovers happily get through hot midsummer weekends.
 

Although punch had its real heyday back in the 18th and 19th centuries, some countries saw a revival of interest in a lighter version of the beverage in the 1960s and 1970s. This variant basically consisted of a combination of fruits, sparkling water and white wine but nowadays more ingredients are available! Thanks to the delightful fruit teas in our range, you can now prepare delectable and fruity alternatives that you can enjoy without having to worry about your ability to drive afterwards.

A bowl of punch like this can be quickly made. Simply brew several cupfuls of our BLOOMING RASPBERRY, transfer the prepared tea to a punch bowl and add ice cubes. Then add a juice of your choice to the chilled raspberry tea - which, by the way, has been blended with 26.5% hibiscus. You can, if you want, further enhance or sweeten your punch; in this case we would recommend adding frozen fruits or perhaps a little mint, sugar or honey. Finally, top up with more juice or an (alcohol-free) sparkling wine.

This ‘Blooming Raspberry Punch’ is just one of many examples of the kinds of drink you can prepare yourself. Fruits and other juices, including lemonade, go well with our FRESH ELDERFLOWER tea and other fruit teas in our range. This will provide tea drinkers with a complex cold beverage that, although it is simplicity itself to make, has remarkable flavour and aroma. We predict this is a drink that will become a classic at every party - and it is not just perfect for those who need to drive home.

Those cocktails that consisted more or less of only alcohol and calories and made drinkers cockeyed are no longer so fashionable - today’s more decorous alternatives are the so-called ‘mocktails’. These are alcohol-free and we at Avoury are also pleased to note the arrival of the ‘tocktail’, a tea-based version.

One delightful example of this kind of drink is ‘Elderflower Fizz’. This can be accurately reproduced using our almost eponymous FRESH ELDERFLOWER tea - not only that, but the beverage is alcohol-free. All you need is a freshly brewed and then cooled cup of our mild fruit tea. If you want to keep absolutely true to the original, transfer this to a cocktail glass of your liking. Add a shot of apple or lemon juice, decorate with mint leaves and slices of lime and then finish with a touch of cane sugar to taste. Top up the glass with sparkling mineral water.

If you find the flavour of the elderflower a little too insipid in this mocktail, increase the amount of elderflower tea used or hone the taste with some 2 cl of elderflower syrup. You can add a shot of gin if you don’t want to go completely alcohol-free. With or without alcohol, this mocktail/tocktail that can be made with the minimum of effort in a few minutes represents a fruity and stimulating refreshment for hot days - suitable for both young and old tea drinkers.

If our recommended recipes have led you to develop a taste for trying out new ideas, you’ll find a wealth of suggestions on our tea recipe page. Included with these is the recipe for ‘Juicy Flower’, a summer drink that is full of flavour and made using our FRESH ELDERFLOWER, together with apple and sugar. And if you complement the hibiscus flower flavour in our BLOOMING RASPBERRY with a little mango, lime and vanilla, you’ll get a ‘Vanilla Heaven’, with its refreshing flavour sensation that is truly out of this world. It may contain 0% alcohol, but 100% enjoyment is guaranteed.
 

Our fruit-based teas have been carefully blended to ensure that the unique character of each variety is clearly revealed in each mouthful. The temperature of a tea is irrelevant in this connection - the high quality of our products remains apparent whether the beverage is hot or cold. Whether your choice is apple, raspberry, hibiscus, peach, elderflower or an exotic combination such as our THE TROPICAL tea, our Avoury One tea machine will make certain that the full taste of each composition is transferred precisely to the cup.

The consistently outstanding flavours and aromas that come into their own irrespective of temperature mean that our fruit teas are genuine taste sensations that can be enjoyed not only in winter but also when summer brings the heat. We hope that such refreshing tea compositions and our many suggested recipes will inspire you, as a tea lover, to create and delight in your own creations whatever the season.