by Lindsey Goodwin

Trend-setting bars, hotels and tea rooms are going beyond the classic hot toddy with innovative tea cocktails. Meanwhile, alcohol-free tea “mocktails” are gaining ground as festive alternatives to cocktails. World Tea News investigates to get you ahead of the curve on this trend, just in time for the holidays.

Money Matters

It’s no wonder customers pick tea cocktails and mocktails with names like Black Market Manhattan and Silk Road for a sense of adventure and a hint of the exotic. While their enticing names and descriptions, as well as unusual ingredients and combinations, make them exciting menu additions for regular customers, it’s their profit margins and ability to draw new customers that make them increasingly popular amongst tea room owners.

Dawn Cameron, owner of NYC’s Sanctuary T, said tea cocktails make up about 20 percent of her overall sales (including food), and 60 percent of cocktails sold are tea-based. She said sales of tea cocktails, priced at $12 each, have doubled since Sanctuary T opened in August 2007. Master mixologist Benoit Cornet said the company’s profit margin for tea cocktails is on par with hot teas, which retail at $4-6 per cup.

Chris Cason, Tavalon’s co-owner, has worked with companies like Hotel Gansevoort and Absolut Vodka to develop tea cocktails and serve them at events like Fashion Week and the Grammys. He said they attract new (often young) customers who wouldn’t normally drink tea, then convert them into regular traffic. At present, about 10 percent of Cason’s wholesale revenue is from teas used for tea cocktails and mocktails, and he expects that number to grow rapidly in the next three to four years. Cason added that until tea cocktails are readily available, establishments can continue to charge premiums for them.

Amy March, co-owner of Austin’s The Steeping Room, said their non-alcoholic tea mocktails retail at $3.75 each and comprise about 5 percent of total sales (including retail and food). March said tea mocktails have a loyal following, and about one in three customers order them. They also have a strong word-of-mouth draw for new customers, especially amongst the youth market, said March.

Layered Libations

Interviewees agreed that successful tea cocktails and mocktails are not simple to design. Cornet said, “You have to get beyond tea with booze or booze with tea; you have to take a more culinary approach.”

March added that customers want complexity in mocktails and suggested using four to five ingredients to make drinks layered and appealing. Sources also emphasized the importance of blends that are both exotic and comforting, created by mixing the unexpected and familiar.

In tea cocktails, Cason said, tea should add a new dimension of flavor without being the primary flavor. He said there are main three ways to achieve this:

1. Mix tea with liquor and a sweet base.

2. Infuse spirits with tealeaves and blend with other ingredients.

3. Make tea-infused simple syrup to sweeten and flavor cocktails or mocktails.

According to Cornet, the top liquor used in tea cocktails is vodka, followed by gin and scotch, but he added that wine-based tea cocktails are also options for those who only have a wine license.

Cason said Earl Grey is the most popular tea for cocktails, but unflavored teas and tisanes offer clearer flavors. Other sources added that green tea cocktails are also very popular; for instance, March’s green tea mocktails are her biggest sellers.

The Easy Way Out