Tea Recipes: Cooking, Baking, and Cocktail Making with Tea
Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world after water. It’s only natural that such a cherished staple in our lives should make its way out of the cup and into our mixing bowls. As an ingredient, tea can be used
- In baked goods, and desserts
- Rubbed on meat, seafood, and vegetables
- Added to soups, stocks, and sauces
- For smoking meat, seafood, salt mixes, and even cocktails
- As a marinade or brine
- To enliven salad dressings
- In compound butter, spice mixes, and specialty salts
- To create exciting new cocktails and alcohol infusions
Impress your family and friends by discovering new ways to add more flavor and fragrance to your favorite dishes. If you’re ready to try something exciting and different in the kitchen, check out our incredible selection of tea recipes below!
Newly Added Tea Recipes
Following summer’s smoking hot tea BBQ recipes, we’re taking you on a culinary journey through the tea regions of India. Experience the unique flavors of Badaga cuisine and learn which tea snacks homesick Bengalis crave the most. Discover the fascinating world and delicious recipes of India’s Parsis culture.
Tea is the Essential BBQ Ingredient
Planning a backyard cookout? Our tea-flavored bbq recipes will make grilling fun and delicious. Transport your guests to the Moroccan desert by transforming your barbequed lamb into tender, juicy pieces of heaven with this aromatic North African Mint Tea Spice Rub. Our Masala Chai Tea BBQ Sauce creates barbequed wings that are finger-licking good. Just be sure to make extra because this sauce is a crowd favorite.
Slather your grilled corn with some Genmaicha Green Tea Compound Butter and turn an ordinary side dish into a showstopper! Craving something simple and sweet? Top grilled summer ripe peaches with a quick and easy Earl Grey Simple Syrup for a sublime finish.
Refreshing Tea Spiked Summer Drinks
Standing over a hot grill sure works up a thirst. Serve parched guests this dangerously delicious Sweet D Tea to really get the party started. What could be more refreshing than combining sweetened black iced tea with the cooling flavors of a Mint Julep?
Going on a picnic? Don’t forget to take your tea with you this summer. There’s nothing more enjoyable than sipping on an invigorating glass of white tea-infused sangria under the open sky. Our Oriental Beauty White Sangria uses cold brewed oolong tea to liven up a classic picnic libation.
Savory Tea Side Dishes
Tea makes everything taste better! Whether you’re looking for a Tea infused Ghee to jazz up basmati rice or some Tea Smoked salts to create the perfect cocktail garnish, we’ve got the recipes you’re looking for.
Try this vibrant and herbaceous Matcha White Bean Dip if you’re craving something healthy and delicious. Turn an ordinary mushroom risotto into a malty umami-packed flavor explosion by adding Keemun tea to your stock.
Tea and salmon are a match made in heaven. This Jasmine Tea Cured Salmon will add a hint of floral to your Sunday brunch, while Tea Smoked Salmon pairs perfectly with bagels and cream cheese.
Elevate your afternoon tea with Smith Tea Maker’s exquisite Lord Bergamot Jam and Meadow Tea Compound Butter. Be sure to create something extra special for your holiday breakfast spread this year by steeping black tea leaves in your Cranberry and Apple Preserves.
Barbequing, Grilling & Smoking with Tea
Tea makes spice rubs even more flavorful and helps create that gorgeous crust that everyone loves so much. Cynthia Gold uses black tea in her spice rub and Lapsang Souchong to add a smokey hit to her bbq sauce in this recipe for Black Tea and Spice Rubbed Baby Back Ribs.
Adding tea to your brine or marinade will turn tough cuts of meat into perfectly succulent bights because the tannins in tea act as a natural tenderizer. This recipe for Tea Grilled Wings uses Keemun in the marinade to transform ordinary chicken wings into juicy, flavorful morsels.
The Chinese have been using tea leaves to smoke meat and seafood for centuries. Any kind of tea can be used, and the end results are always aromatic and incredibly tender. Here’s a useful Tea Smoking Blend to get you started on your smoking journey. Once you’ve created your tea-smoking packets, you can begin experimenting with your favorite cuts of meat.
Tea Smoked Pork Loin yields fast and flavorful results. Quail can be notoriously difficult to prepare, but this recipe for Tea Smoked Quail produces perfectly cooked pieces that are hauntingly aromatic.
Tea Flavored Main Dishes
Searching for something extra special to wow your family and friends with. These tea-flavored main dishes are sure to impress. The holidays are the perfect excuse to try something adventurous in the kitchen. This succulent and crispy Tea Brined Porchetta is the ultimate holiday main event!
Quick and easy to prepare, a Black Tea Marinated Pork Loin will turn any weeknight dinner into a special occasion.
Tea Infused Desserts & Baked Goods
When it comes to sweets, desserts, and pastries, tea is the ultimate flavor enhancer. The smokey qualities of a good Lapsang Souchong are used to turn these chocolate and marshmallow macarons into Gourmet Smores that taste fresh from the campfire.
Sweet Tea and freshly baked pie are two Southern American staples. So why not combine the two to create a dessert that’s tasty and unique at the same time? This recipe uses the sweet maltiness of a good Orange Peoke tea to liven up a classic Chess Pie.
In the mood for a lighter dessert that’s full of flavor? This simple Fruit Salad with Jasmine Tea Syrup is the perfect afternoon treat. Bright, floral, and satisfying Jasmine tea simple syrups are an easy way to add a bit of elegance and flair to any dessert.
Tea Nibbles
In the Middle East and Central Asian countries, families always have sweet treats on hand to welcome unexpected guests. These Middle Eastern Kahk cookies are filled with fragrant spices and go perfectly with a sweetened glass of hot tea. Georgian Halva is an exotic treat that’s easy to prepare.
Use tea in your baked goods to create delightful morsels layered with unique flavors. These Earl Grey Scones with fresh blueberries are the perfect addition to your Afternoon Tea set.
The winner of the 2023 World Tea Conference & Expo Best Tea-Inspired Chef award, Shania Thomas-Floyd uses her innovative Arise & Chai tea blend to create deliciously revitalizing chai-spiced Shortbread Cookies
Tasty Tea Cocktails, Punches & Syrups
Bartenders and mixologists around the world are starting to realize that tea can be used in many different ways to create mesmerizing cocktails and superb infusions. From simple syrups to smoked cocktails, tea transforms drinks into magical concoctions.
Matcha is a beloved ingredient used in a lot of recipes. In this Matcha Pineapple Margarita, it balances the acidic sweetness of fresh pineapple while adding a vibrant green color to the finished drink.
Historical Tea Punches
Tea has been used for hundreds of years to help water down the potent punches served at European and colonial American parties. This recipe for Fish House Punch is one of the oldest recorded instances of a tea-based cocktail and is still extremely popular and potent!
Before simple syrups became the standard cocktail sweetener, bartenders had to rely on sugar infused with the essential oils of citrus fruit to sweeten and flavor their famous punches. Oleo Saccharum adds an aromatic zing to tea punches but can also be used to brighten up baked goods and desserts.
Tiki and Tea Smoked Cocktails
Considering sailors traveling across the tropics were the first people to start adding tea to their rum grogs, it should be no surprise that it’s a common ingredient found in tropical Tiki drinks. One sip of the rum-based Statler cocktail, and you’ll be transported to sandy shores where the warm breeze is heavy with the scent of Tahitian vanilla and fragrant spices. Tea is also used to add a smoked element to this ethereal and delicious Tea Smoked Tiki Cocktail.
Using a smoking gun is an easy and effective way to experiment with smoking different cocktails. In the Tea Smoked Bloody Mary, tea leaves and a smoking gun are used to transform this hangover cure into something truly unique and exciting.
Tea Infusions
Infusing alcohol with tea allows you to transform your favorite spirits into something completely different and even more delicious. The Southern Earl Grey Cocktail calls for tea-infused Bourbon to create a complex and layered champagne drink that goes down way too easily. Infusing White Port with Black Tea, Lavender, and Rose Petals creates a heavenly-perfumed concoction that is perfect for serving with Afternoon Tea.
The herbal and botanical elements of a good gin pair well with the complex nuances of different teas. Marzi’s Summer Gimlet infuses gin with the sweet floral flavors of Jasmine tea and Yuzu fruit to create an exciting new take on the classic cocktail.
Holiday Party Tea Drinks
Looking for an exciting new drink to serve at your next holiday party? Use a Masala Chai Tea Concentrate to spice up your grandma’s Egg Nog recipe, and your guests will be absolutely delighted and sauced.