Peach Rosemary Tea Collins

This is a recipe I developed for my third tea party, and it is inspired by a vacation earlier in the summer. I went to a weekend summer camp for adults for my best friend's bachelorette party. It included nice food and drinks. My very favorite adult beverage served during this weekend camp was called a Rishi Tea Collins, a Tom Collins made with vodka and brewed tea from Rishi (a company that sells excellent tea and you should check them out). They had a black tea version and green tea version, and while both were good, I thought the green tea one was incredible. It was served with a rosemary sprig in the top of the cup and this really elevated the whole thing.

I needed to learn to make it or at least try before it faded from memory, so I needed to give myself a goal time to have it done, and the tea party seemed like a good excuse. Also, since it was for a fancy summer tea party, I wanted to try to add a summer fruit flavor to the mix and decided on peach since it goes well with both lemon and rosemary.

-----------------

RECIPE:

Peach Rosemary Tea Collins

adapted from Liquor Control Board of Ontario (lol)

makes about 4 1/2 cups mix, enough for 6-8 servings

Tea concentrate:
1 1/8 cups water
4 bags peach flavored green tea (if loose leaf, about 3-4 tbsp leaves)

Rosemary simple syrup:
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups vodka (the bartenders at the camp recommend Tito's)
Sparkling water (plain or lemon flavor) to taste
Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

To make tea concentrate: Bring 1 ⅛ cups water to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let steep for 12-15 minutes. Strain out and discard tea leaves/tea bags. Let cool to room temperature.

To make rosemary simple syrup: Place water and sugar in a saucepan on the stove and heat on medium-high, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Gently bruise the rosemary (roll gently between your fingers) and add to the hot sugar water mixture. Let stand until cooled to room temperature. Strain rosemary stems and leaves out of the mixture.

Mix together all ingredients except sparkling water and chill. (It can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.) Pour desired amount over ice into a glass. Top with a bit of sparkling water and stir briefly. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice is an absolute must here. Sometimes I cut it with bottled juice since lemons can get expensive where I live, but make sure at least half of the lemon juice is freshly squeezed or it's just not right.
• Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish are also a must. Being able to smell it while you drink heightens the experience considerably.
• Possibly unpopular opinion: the quality of the tea is not super important so long as you like the flavor. Bigelow's peach green tea (which I wouldn't buy to drink straight all by itself) happened to be what I was looking for in this case.
• Ideas for variations:
• I think you could make it with just about any kind of green (or other) tea you want, though my vote would be for a neutral or fruit flavored type.
• A standard Tom Collins is made with gin, so depending on the type of tea you choose (a particularly herbal flavored one perhaps), gin might taste nice instead. I also encourage you to experiment with other neutral flavored spirits; I've used Korean soju in this before and I think it works nicely with the tea.
• Varying the fresh herb used might also be interesting. For example, sage might be tasty with a blackberry or black currant flavored tea, or mint with a blueberry tea.