The countdown to 2017 is on, and you’re starting to wonder who you’ll be kissing and what you’ll be sipping when the clock strikes midnight. While a glass of bubbly is a winning classic for any New Years toast, why not remix your tried and true with a splash of tea? That’s right, adding tea to champagne creates a memorable, distinct, and often beautiful beverage. Here are five tea-infused champagne cocktails to consider when planning how you’ll ring in the New Year:
1) Hibiscus Royale Champagne Cocktail
This concoction from Betty Crocker infuses bubbly champagne with hibiscus-raspberry flavors and a pop of color. Create a hibiscus tea simple syrup by steeping hibiscus-raspberry tea bags in sugar and water. Then add champagne and garnish with raspberries or lemon. Beautifully bright red and winningly fruity, start the New Year off right with this drink.
2) Green Tea Champagne
More and more people are starting their day with green smoothies packed with nutrients. Why not start off the New Year that way, too? This “green machine” from Rachel Ray is easy to make and will give you and your guests something welcomingly unexpected to raise in the air as you watch the ball drop. Simply combine green tea, lime guice, and agave or honey in a cocktail shaker and shake it like a polaroid picture. Pour into glasses, add champagne, and garish with mint for a final touch. We hope green goes with your outfit!
3) Earl Grey Tea Infused Champagne Cocktail
This cocktail from World Market combines tea-infused vodka and champagne for a double dose of booze. It takes a long time to make, so plan ahead. Start by placing 2 Earl Grey tea bags and 1 cup of vodka in an airtight container for 24 hours. Once time’s up, remove the tea bags and admire your tea-infused vodka. Simply add this flavored vodka to champagne, garnish with lemon, and toast the night away.
4) Kombucha Champagne With Thyme
This kombucha cocktail from The Clean Dish delivers the health benefits of kombucha and the bubbly delectability of champagne all in one glass in under five minutes. Simply combine equal amounts of kombucha and champagne, then add 2-3 small twigs of thyme. If you want a green beverage, use green tea kombucha. If not, stick with a black tea-based brand of the fermented probiotic. If you’ve always thought your champagne would benefit from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts, then this is the cocktail for you.
5) White Peach and Green Tea Bellini
This recipe from blogger Molly Yeh combines green tea, gin, and champagne for a yummy treat. Combine one part muddled white peach and one part gin with two parts Prosecco and two parts green tea in a glass. (Yeh used Teavana’s Shaken Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonde, but we think any green tea will do.) Overachievers: garnish glasses with peach slices and sprinkle sugar on the rim for a snowy finish.
Happy New Year!
