Jade Ghost
Kyoto Collins
This refreshing long drink uses a soda made with fragrant white tea. White teas are harvested from the youngest, most tender buds and leaves of the tea plant, and very lightly processed, resulting in a delicate, often floral flavour.
Idol Meets Impostor
This twist on a classic Old Fashioned gets an appealing smoky note from the ice cube made with Lapsang Souchong, a Chinese black tea whose leaves are dried over burning pinewood for a rich, bold and earthy flavour with subtle bonfire notes.
Tea time
Discover a world of flavour in a cuppa
Tea is one of the world’s most common beverages—second only to water in terms of the amount consumed—yet it’s often overlooked as a cocktail ingredient. And that’s too bad, because it’s far more versatile, accessible and fun to experiment with than you may think.
With a wide range of black, green, white and herbal teas available, you can find almost any flavour profile you’re looking for, from a fruity herbal tea ideal for a fizzy and refreshing highball to a bitter, dry and tannic over-steeped green tea that makes a substitute for dry vermouth in a Martini. Looking for something more exotic? Enter Lapsang Souchong. Often referred to as “the scotch of teas,” its leaves have been dried above a pinewood fire, giving it savoury and smoky characteristics akin to Islay-made whisky.
A tipsy take on tea at The Empress
Afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress is one of Victoria’s bucket-list experiences, served in one of the city’s most iconic spaces, the hotel’s soaring and ornate tea lobby. But now, says Maeve Fogarty, “We’re twisting afternoon tea on its head.”