Give a tea blending party!

To-Do List

A few days before

-invite guests

-buy teas

-decide how teas will be wrapped to go

The day of:

-Set up workspace with bowls, note cards and pens

-buy or make snacks

-Gather teapots

1) Invite the girls!

Special kills or knowledge aren’t require to create delicious tea blends, promises Tracy Stern, author of Tea for You: Blending Custom Teas to Savor and Share.” All you need are your senses!” Set aside a leisurely hour or two in the late afternoon or evening, and invite as many guests as can comfortably sit at your table, so it’s an intimate gathering.

2) Buy your teas!

You’ll need one or two teas as bases for your blends, says Stern. “Black tea is the best for beginners. Its strong flavors make it the easiest to mix-you almost can’t go wrong. Green and red (rooibos) teas work well, too, or you can use chamomile flowers. Skip delicate white teas; they’re expensive and are easily overwhelmed by other flavors.” Plan on about 4oz. of tea leaves per guest. Buy bulk tea (find the Davidson’s Tea brand and Lipton Loose Tea on Amazon.com

3)Choose aromatic mix-ins

Aim to have at least four mix-you, from herbs (like lemongrass or lavender) and spices (pink peppercorns, ground cinnamon) to dried fruits (golden raisins, chopped dried apple). Feeling fancy? Try edible rose petals, hibiscus flowers, cocoa powder or shredded coconut. Guests can add a pinch or any of the above to the tea base of their choice-there are no hard and fast rules-or use these recipes. Each makes enough tea for 25 6-oz. to 8-oz cups. Simply combine the ingredients and gently shake or stir.

Lavender Almond Black Tea

2 oz. black tea leaves ( or contents of 6 tea bags)

2 tsp dried lavender blossems

¼ tsp. almond extract

2 tsp ground toasted almonds

Cranberry Rose Petal Red Tea

2 oz. rooibos tea leaves (or contents of 6 tea bags)

2 tsp dried cranberries

2 tsp dried rose petals

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Chocolate Assam Tea

Assam tea, an Indian black tea, is very bold and strong. The spices that stand up best to its flavors are star anise, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and vanilla beans”, Add a pinch of two or three to a base of Assam tea, or try this ratio, suggests Stern.

 2 oz, Assam or other strong black tea

Pinch ground clove

Pinch ground ginger

¼ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Chamomile Coconut Green Tea

For the best flavor, lightly toast the coconut in a pan and cool before blending.

2oz. green tea

2tsp. Chamomile buds

2tsp. dried unsweetened coconut flakes

Super Spiced brew

2oz black tea leaves (or contents of 6 tea bags)

1Tsp ground cinnamon (more if you like it spicy!)

½ tsp. ground cloves

½ tsb ground ginger

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

4) Blend to perfection!

Have a workstation with a small bowl and measuring spoons for each guest to blend her teas. Some people like to follow their nose and intuition. Either way, make sure to…

Start small: first, combine scant amounts of the ingredients you want to use and smell them together. If you like the scent, brew a sample cup. When you’re satisfied, blend a larger amount.

Go slow: Breathing in and inhaling the scent of the teas lets you savor and enjoy the experience!

Take notes: Jot down the ratios you used so you can re-create your blend.

Think up a name: Give your signature tea a personal name, like “Kate’s Crazy Chamomile.”

5) Sip and snack!

Set out pastries and berries to enjoy while you work or bake up teapot shaped cookies. Have teapots, cups and sweetener at the ready for sampling your creations. 

6) Pack ‘em to go!  Give as gifts

There are tons of options for packaging teas to take home: try old tea tins, small paper bags, glassine or cellotins, small paper bags, glassine or cellophane bags, or clean Mason jars.