Hot Tea Recipes for Anytime of the Year

I bet you didn’t know that January is National Hot Tea Month. If you did, yay! If you didn’t, you do now. I am going to assume that you clicked on this blog because you like tea, so I’m going give you some fun tea recipes you might not have tried yet. Be sure to save them to indulge in on International Tea Day – May 21st! 

Quick Fun Facts 

Before I dive into the recipes, Census.gov has some fun statistics about tea that you might like to know: 

• Tea is the most consumed beverage in the United States next to water. 
• The South and Northeast parts of the country have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers (which did not surprise me one bit!). 
• 84% of all tea consumed was black tea (which didn’t surprise this blogger because that is what iced tea is commonly made with). 

Recipes 

All right, so let’s get to the real reason you’re here. I want to avoid the stigma of being a recipe blogger that makes everyone read my life story before we get to the recipes, so I’m going to dive right in! 

Sick Tea/Wellness Tea 

This recipe isn’t technically a tea (don’t come after me), but it IS the tea my mother used to make for me any time I had a cold growing up. If you’re like 8-year-old me, the first time you see the ingredients you might blanche, but trust me, it’s good! Garlic contains antioxidants, honey coats the throat and soothes it, and lemon has vitamin C, which you probably know supports the immune system. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 lemon. squeezed 
• 7 garlic cloves, cut in half 
• honey to taste. You can also use Agave Nectar or another vegan alternative 
• 3 cups hot water  

Steps: 

After the water is hot, let ingredients steep until cool enough to drink. Simple and tasty! 

Pink Drink 

If you’ve been on social media at all, you’ve probably heard of Starbucks’ Pink Drink. It’s made with coffee (specifically green coffee extract), but in this version, I’m going to tell you how to make it with tea and to make it hot. Take that, coffee drinkers! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed 
• 2 berry-flavored green tea bags 
• 1 cup boiling water 
• 1-1/2 cups warm coconut milk 
• 2 tablespoons simple syrup 
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries, slightly crushed 

Steps: 

In a saucepan, cook strawberries over low heat until they start to break apart, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool enough to puree strawberries.  

Steep tea 5 minutes in boiling water; discard tea bags. Stir in pureed strawberries, coconut milk and simple syrup. Garnish with freeze-dried strawberries. Enjoy! 

Spiced Fruit Tea 

This tea is made in a slow cooker, but its sweet and spicy nature might make you think of the Autumn. I think it’s particularly nice in the Winter when we’re all looking for a warm pick-me-up. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 can pineapple juice (not from concentrate) 
• 1 cup orange juice 
• 1 cup pomegranate juice 
• 2 cinnamon sticks 
• 2 teaspoons cloves 
• 2 black iced (sometimes called family-size) tea bags 

Steps: 

Place all items in a slow cooker on low heat for thirty minutes. Remove tea bags and cinnamon sticks. Garnish with fruit if desired! 

And there you have it. Three fun new recipes to try and enjoy at your leisure! Do you have any fun recipes you’d like to share? Did you try these and have a strong opinion about them? Let me know! 

And after you've tried the recipes, you may want to take your tea knowledge to the next level; here are a few books from our collection to do just that!

Wild Tea

Grow Your Own Tea

The Book of Tea

The Healing Powers of Tea