Name: Tea Liqueur
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon dried black or green tea; 14 ounces vodka; 2 ounces recipe

Why This Recipe Works

We settled on black and green teas for making our tea liqueurs, as tasters preferred their flavors and they were the most commonly available. Black teas (such as Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling, which are sometimes enhanced with additional flavors to make such familiar blends as English breakfast, Irish breakfast, Earl Grey, and masala chai) are made from oxidized tea leaves and are bold, tannic teas. One of our favorite black teas, Lapsang souchong, is smoke-dried, with a unique woodsy-smoky flavor. Green teas are made from unoxidized tea leaves and have bittersweet, grassy notes. They are sometimes enhanced with additional flavor elements (such as roasted popped brown rice to make genmaicha tea).

Before You Begin

Any of these styles of black or green tea can be used in this recipe. This liqueur can be made overnight. You will need a pint-size glass jar with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe.

Instructions

Place tea and vodka in pint-size glass jar. Cover tightly and shake to combine. Store jar in cool, dark place for 1 day, shaking mixture occasionally.

Set fine-mesh strainer in medium bowl and line with triple layer of cheesecloth. Strain vodka mixture through prepared strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Return infused vodka to clean jar and add simple syrup. Cover and gently shake to combine. (Tea Liqueur can be stored in cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Shake gently before using.)