Tea blogger and educator Nicole Wilson wants everyone to love tea, so she’s written a cookbook that is a celebration of tea, from traditional hot teas to iced teas to matcha to boba tea to cocktails to tea-infused snacks. She is here for all of it, and she’s sharing her best recipes and tips with readers.
She starts with a brief introduction, to share the basics of brewing the perfect cuppa, with a chart that tells the perfect temperature and brewing time for each type of tea. She talks equipment (you don’t need much to start), and explains the differences between the types of tea. If you’re a fan of green tea, oolong, black tea, herbals, or yerba mate, you will find everything you need to get acquainted with the world of teas, from their geographical origins to their perfect brewing methods. There are also tips for what kinds of milk work best with the different teas and troubleshooting for imperfect brews.
And then it’s on to the drinks. Wilson starts with hot and iced teas, the types that most familiar and some new ideas that will get your mouth watering. There is a Bedtime Tea, Morning Blend, and Southern-Style Sweet Tea, for traditionalists. But there is also a Chocolate Chai, Shaken Black Tea with Raspberry Preserves, Cinnamon Hojicha, and Butterfly Pea Flower Tea with Lemon Slices that changes color for tea drinkers wanting something fresh and inventive.
Next on the menu are the Tea Lattes. Wilson offers up recipes for a Matcha Latte, Chai Latte, Gingerbread Chai Latte, Rooibos Caramel Latte Turmeric Latte, and Iced Dirty Chai Latte (“Dirty” for the espresso that’s added). Then she turns to the Boba, Milk Teas, and Special Teas, including a recipe for Homemade Boba for bubble teas. And it’s on to Classic Boba Milk Tea, Horchata Boba Tea, Rose Milk Tea, Earl Grey Hot Chocolate, Matcha Morning Wakeup, and Sparkling Lavender Matcha, just to name a few.
But if you’re wanting something stronger, you can try Tea Cocktails and Mocktails, like the Arnold Palmer, Lapsang Souchong Old-Fashioned, Hot Toddy, Virgin Matcha Mojito (although you can add white rum if you want), Sweet Tea and Rum Punch, or the Oolong and Elderflower Gimlet. And to soak up some of that alcohol, or just the tea, there are Tea Treats to snack on. For your tea party or just for your family, you can bake up the Classic Fruited Scones, Scottish Shortbread, Chelsea Buns, Crumpets, Matcha-Lemon Sugar Cookies, or Chai Banana Bread. Or if you need an extra special dessert, you can try the Rose Black Tea Crème Brulee.
I thought that The Tea Recipe Book has a lot of new and interesting ideas for creating teas that will warm, comfort, and inspire just about any drinker. With lots of extra ideas for add-ins and tips for using milks and foamers and extra flavors, these 50 recipes are just a jumping off point for ways to enjoy tea drinks. I do wish that there were more photos, because these recipes sound so beautiful, I think that they would be photographed beautifully, adding some color and texture to the type-heavy book. But otherwise, I thought this was a fascinating look at the different types and styles of teas and offers a wide variety of recipes to play with for tea lovers and tea novices.
Egalleys for The Tea Recipe Book were provided by Rockridge Press through Callisto’s Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.
