What is a tea tonic?

Tea tonic is a drink made with icy cold tonic and brewed tea. The idea originated from coffee tonic; a refreshing drink made with a shot of espresso poured over cold tonic. To get a two layered look, make sure the tonic is fresh and icy cold and always pour tea straight onto the ice.

Tea tonic usually contains a caffeinated tea, so make sure to use a decaf tea for a caffeine-free drink.

What is the best tea for making tea tonic boba?

You can use any tea you want to make this drink. Earl grey is a wonderful classic choice that pairs extremely well with tonic and grape flavoured boba pearls. You can also use other types of black tea, both flavoured and pure. Stronger pure of flavoured green teas, dark oolongs, ripe pu’erh and flavoured shou mei white teas are all great choices. Choose teas you usually enjoy drinking.

Tonic is already sweet enough, and this drink doesn’t need any additional sweeteners. However, always brew the tea properly to avoid extreme bitterness or murkiness.

Some great teas to try:

• Assam black tea
• Mango flavoured black tea
• Coconut flavoured black tea
• Peach flavoured green tea
• Red robe oolong tea

Why adding popping boba?

Popping boba is a boba tea ingredient filled with fruit juices. When you bite into it, popping boba will burst, adding another delicious fruity note to tea tonic. These boba pearls are used for making fruit bobas rather than milk boba teas. They come in a whole range of flavours, such as peach, pineapple, lychee, grapes, mango etc. Popping boba doesn’t need to be cooked or washed and you can simply add them to any juice or drink.

Ingredients for making Tea Tonic Boba

Tonic: choose any tonic you want, as long as it’s freshly opened. Avoid using flat tonics. Alternatively, you can use a flavoured carbonated water too.  

Tea: make a stronger brew using 1 heaped teaspoon of tea leaves, and steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on the tea type. If you want to extract more flavour, add more tea leaves instead of steeping them longer.

Popping boba: They are usually available in smaller containers, enough for making three drinks. If you are using regular unflavoured black or green tea, choose your favourite flavour. If you are using flavoured teas, try to match the popping boba flavour with the flavour of tea. Grape flavoured pearls pair extremelly well with earl grey tea. Add popping boba before adding ice.

Ice: add lots of ice into tonic before adding tea. Set aside for a couple of minutes until your tonic is icy cold. While waiting, brew the tea to save time.

Print

Earl Grey Tea Tonic Boba

Super tasty tea tonic boba with grape popping pearls

Course Drinks

Keyword Black Tea, Earl Grey, Popping Boba

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Equipment

• Kettle
• Serving glass

Ingredients

• 120 ml tonic or 1/3 glass
• 120 ml brewed tea or 1/3 glass
• 3 tablespoons of grape popping boba
• 1 heaped teaspoon Earl Grey tea or tea of your choice
• 150 ml water for making tea
• ice

Instructions

• Bring fresh water to a boil.
• Pour 120 ml of cold tonic into a serving glass.
• Add popping boba and lots of ice. Set aside.
• Steep 1 heaped teaspoon of tea leaves in freshly boiled water for 3-5 minutes.
• If needed, add more ice into a serving glass with tonic and popping boba. Slowly pour freshly boiled tea directly onto ice.
• Serve immediately. Add boba straw or a long-handled teaspoon.

The post Earl Grey Tea Tonic Boba appeared first on All That Tea.

What is Tea Tonic?

Espresso tonic comes from Sweden, and it’s more than unique – while it sounds like a simple blend of tonic and espresso, this drink is all about the right timing and measurements. Lots of ice, VERY cold tonic, and a shot of properly prepared espresso.

Tea tonic is no different. You’ll need to make a strong cup of tea, use high-quality leaves, chill your tonic, fill the cup with ice, and then blend them all together.

Which teas are the best for making Tea Tonic?

Theoretically, you can choose any tea you want and simply mix it with tonic. But to get the best result, choose stronger and flavourful high-quality teas, with either slight astringency, grassiness, fruitiness or spiciness. Think of a gin and tonic and you may get the idea. Lighter teas or white teas may be too light, though – their flavour will get lost and they won’t bend so nicely. Tea with more intense colour will give a visually more appealing drink too. When done properly, tonic and tea will not blend. Tea will stay on the top even as you sip it.

Top choices:

• Earl Grey black tea – choose stronger flavourful blends. Citrusy Earl Grey is one of the best choices for making this drink.
• Blueberry flavoured blends – sweet blueberries with a smooth and bold black tea are our second favourite choice.
• Raspberry flavoured black tea blends

Which tonic should you use?

What’s really important is that the tonic you are using is freshly opened. Opened bottle of tonic may go flat within a few days. Both cheaper and expensive tonic will work and choose a flavour profile you enjoy the most. We would avoid coloured ones, though. Choose the one you enjoy drinking. This recipe uses no sweeteners, so sweeter and flavoured but colourless tonic will be a great choice, too.

Print

Black Tea Tonic

Course Drinks

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 1 glass

Equipment

• Glass
• Electrict hand frother optional

Ingredients

• 1 cup of ice
• 1 heaped teaspoon of black tea leaves
• 50 ml of water
• 200 ml of tonic

Instructions

• Fill the glass with ice and add tonic.
• Bring water to a boil.
• Add 1 heaped teaspoon of tea leaves into a teapot and steep in boiling water for 5 minutes. You want a strong concentrated brew, but less concentrated than for making tea ice cubes.
• Strain the tea and use an electric frother to froth it up a bit.
• Pour the tea over chilled tonic.

Notes

The easiest way to make a strong brew with 50 ml of water is to use a Chinese gaiwan or a paper tea filter.

The post Tea and Tonic – A Match Made in Heaven appeared first on All That Tea.