When we talk about the art of drinking a fine Ceylon Tea, we usually think about traditional drinking experiences like a steaming hot cup in the morning, with milk and sugar blended in – or sipped plain in a glass with a piece of kithul jaggery on the side. On the streets, in kades at work and in homes across Sri Lanka, drinking tea like this is an everyday habit.
There are other ways to experience a Ceylon Tea however that are less traditional but can be just as delicious. Jones Tea is a great base for heady cocktails and several fun mocktails that give you an altogether different tea drinking adventure while keeping you occupied, invigorated, and happy during these difficult days where many of us are home.
For the sake of being adventurous with your next cup of Ceylon’s finest, let's explore some non-traditional, non-alcoholic experiments that you can try at home today. From a tropical watermelon treacle blend to an evening citrus punch, we’ve dreamed up 3 delicious recipes with easy to source ingredients year round.
Jones Tea infused with Green Apples and Brown Sugar
-Frozen slices of Green Apple
-1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar
-Four JBST Tea Bags
-2 cups of chilled soda/sparkling water
Begin with the green apples. Cut two small Green Apples and slice them thinly. Once you’re done slicing, add the slices and brown sugar in a non-stick saucepan over a low heat and mix them together 7yuntil the sugar is dissolved. Keep increasing the heat for at least 15 minutes until you’re sure the syrup is thickened.
Next, place a steel mesh strainer over a bowl and then pour the syrup into the bowl through the strainer. Use a spoon or spatula to gently press the mixture through strainer so you extract all the liquid. Once you’re done, remember to discard the solids.
Your third step will be to drop the 4JBST tea bags into 2 cups of boiling water for 3 minutes. Once done, remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool.
Then, add the tea into a blender, include ice cubes and the strained apple and sugar syrup and blend well. Once you’re done, pour into ice-filled glasses until each glass is ¾ full. To finish the blend, top it off with soda or sparkling water.
Jones Tea infused with Watermelon slices and Kithul treacle
-Frozen slices of watermelon
-1 tablespoon of Kithul treacle
-Four table spoons of Ape The
-2 cups of boiling water
Let’s begin our adventure with using cookie or clay cutter shapes to cut out the watermelon slices into fun shapes. Once you’re done, place the slices into a wax paper lined baking sheet and set in your freezer for at least two hours.
Next, boil the water and add in the four cut tablespoons of Ape The into the water and leave for five minutes.Strain the tea, add in the treacle and allow to cool.
Half an hour later, add in the frozen chunk of watermelon, pour into tall, chilled glasses and serve!
Jones Tea Bags infused with Lemon and Ginger Beer
-50ml of Ginger Beer
-50ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice
-1 tablespoon of Bees Honey
-Four JSBT Tea Bags
Our journey begins with us dropping the 4 Jones tea bags into boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove the tea bags, leave to cool and then place the tea in your freezer for half an hour.
Once you take the chilled tea out, pour it into a large jug. Start stirring in the other ingredients one by one. Start with the ginger beer, follow up with the lemon juice and finally the bee’s honey.
Once all the ingredients are stirred in together, pour out the infusion into tall chilled glasses and serve. You canal so add more fun into the experience by adding slices of lemon to garnish the glasses.
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