Good, Clean Real: How to make a tea cocktail from scratch, and a few favorite recipes

Feeling a little DIY? Brewing tea cocktails from scratch is a fun, rewarding non-cooking, slightly boozy way to spend time in your kitchen. Fun fact, it's also how Jennie and Maria started Owl's Brew! They were brewing tea cocktails from scratch for friends and events.

Here are a few tips!

• We prefer a cold brew method to hot brew — you don’t run the risk of over brewing, and your cocktail chills much faster

• We always say stir or dry shake — the reason you shouldn’t shake our DIY blends with ice is that tea is delicate, and a lot of shaking will quickly dilute the cocktails.

• The recipes (adapted from our book, Wise Cocktails, sometimes use more base than is necessary for the cocktail. That is because when you remove the tea bag, some of the water will be lost. Sip it up! It’s just as beneficial dry as boozy.

White Arnold

(yields two cocktails, serve in 8oz glass)

Ingredients

• Tea Base

• 12oz water

• 2 teaspoon white tea

• 1 teaspoon rose petals

• 1 teaspoon dried strawberries

• Or…find fresh strawberries and add them to the water to brew with the tea

• Pinch of lemon peel

• 3oz Vodka

• 3 Tablespoon of sweetener (we like cane sugar)

• Garnish: Lemon slice or muddled strawberries

Instructions

• Fill a cup or pitcher with12 ounces of room-temperature (not cold) water.

• In a tea linen or tea ball, combine all ingredients in the tea base. Brew in the water for 10 minutes, agitating from time to time. Remove linen/bag.

• In a shaker, combine the tea base, vodka, and sweetener. Dry shake (no ice). Strain and pour into glass over. Swirl gently to chill. Squeeze of fresh lemon