Steep It Loose

Sometimes, your usual cup of tea just doesn’t fit the occasion. Perhaps you’re looking for some new and exciting drinks to make for friends. If you’re like me though, and the idea of having to choose between a cup of tea and another drink is unacceptable, here are some great new drinks to try—and for every one, tea is in the forefront without drowning out the rest of your ingredients. Mocktails and Cocktails A great place to start when spicing up your tea is to use bar syrups instead of sugar or honey as a sweetener. A bit of orgeat...

The weather’s piping hot, and we’re getting to that time of year when we all need something on hand to stay hydrated. About 75% of us Americans are chronically dehydrated. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can adversely affect fatigue, mood, and concentration, and bring on anxiety and headaches [1] [2]. But maybe water is too plain for you, soda too sugary, and hydration mixes overly loaded with chemicals. If you’re looking for something more natural to keep you well hydrated, there are a plethora of teas out there for you, and the ways they can be prepared are...

By Raquel for Steeped Dreams Can you brew tea in cold water? Yes, and it’s much easier than the traditional hot water method! I have a vivid memory from my childhood of my mom ordering a cold green tea at a restaurant. We all had quite the laugh when the server brought out a glass of ice with a tea bag inside. How was the tea supposed to brew without hot water? While a cup of ice definitely won’t get you a refreshingly cool cup of tea while waiting for your food, it turns out my family wasn’t completely right...

Although our nation was colonized by tea drinkers from England, when dissent about taxation kicked off the Boston Tea Party, angered Americans dumped 92,000 lbs of tea overboard into the bay to reject the goods along with the taxes with the now famous rallying cry “no taxation without representation!” While there had been a whole list of taxes the British levied on the colonies, public outcry led to almost all of them eventually being repealed—except the tax on tea, which came to be seen as a symbol of the power England imposed over the colonies. The colonies drank just over...