Tea-Fusions: 3 Ways to Infuse Tea into Cocktails and More!

We obviously love drinking tea anytime, and there’s a Moody blend for any occasion; but sometimes, we just want to take it up a notch! Cocktails, mocktails, and other drinks are a great way to level up your beverage game, and can include all your favorite teas with tea-fusions! Today, we’re looking at infused liquids and how we can use them to make a gorgeous Autumn Chai Appletini!

What is an infusion?

Infusion is a process of extracting flavors from food into a liquid, leaving an infusion. This means soaking the flavor agent in a liquid, like water, alcohol, oil, or vinegar. There are 3 different methods depending on time and temperature. This means the liquid takes on the flavors of the food (and sometimes vice versa). Infusions have been around forever, and tea is a great example! Tea leaves are used to infuse water using one of the three methods. Tons of cultures have used infusions for different reasons, from preservation to medicinal uses.

There are three traditional ways of infusion, one cold method and two hot.

Cold Method

The cold method is arguably the easiest. This method relies on time, as opposed to temperature. To make a cold infusion, fill your container with your flavor agent of choice. Dried ingredients are ideal since they are less likely to spoil the liquid. Then top fill the container with your liquid and set aside in a cool, dark place, shaking or mixing every few days. This method can take anywhere from a day to several weeks, depending on your components.

Hot Methods

There are two hot infusion methods – steeping and simmering. These infusions rely on heat, and are much faster to make. The hotter the liquid, the faster the flavor is infused, but be careful – higher temperatures often bring out more bitter components. Like tea, other flavor agents can become bitter, so use the lowest temp that can achieve the result you’re looking for. Flavor elements can also evaporate over time if the hot infusion is made in an open container, so keep a lid on it!

Steeping

The first hot method is one we’re all familiar with. Bring your liquid to a boil and pour over your flavor agents into a container. Steep anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to get your desired taste. Then, strain your flavor agents out and your infusion is done!

Simmering

The other hot method is simmering. First, add your liquid and your flavor agent to a pot, and bring to a simmer. Let it go for a few minutes to an hour, again depending on your preference.  Then, let this cool and strain. You can also do this in the oven or a crockpot if you don’t want to leave it on an open flame!

Other Methods

There are a few additional infusion methods using newer technologies, such as sous vide, pressure cooking, or a whipping siphon. You can read more about infusions and other methods here!

Tea-Fusions

You can make tea-fusions using any of these methods. The cold method is basically just cold brew tea! This method can also be modified to make sun teas, but that’s a topic for another post. As we discussed in our last blog, cold-brew has nothing to do with the type of tea.  Actually, it’s a method of brewing (another word for infusing)! Check out our post on cold brew teas here!  As for the hot methods, steeping is how we traditionally brew tea. However, you can use tea to make a variety of other infusions for different purposes. Think infused liquors, syrups, salts, and sugars for drinks, or oils and vinegars with your favorite tea flavors for enhancing your savory meals!

Today, we’ll be tea-fusions to make an Autumn Chai Appletini using one of our fave chais, Kumaon, Let’s Go! First, we’ll start by making infused vodka using the cold brewed method.

Next, let’s make an infused cider with the hot steeping method. This is also amazing as is, or add some sparkling water for a fun mocktail substitute!

Finally, let’s put these recipes to the test and combine them into this delicious Autumn Chai Appletini!