When Two World Collide | The Delicious Result of Combining Tea & Coffee
A few months ago, we tried and shared some trending tea and coffee recipes. We tried sparkling up some cold brew, mixed in some lemonade with cold brew, made a sherbet tea float, and others. As fall approaches, I decided to experiment with some tea and espresso combinations. We used Guatemalan Coffee from our coffee site, Sagebrush Coffee, for our espresso and poured a shot into a tea latte prepared with some of our teas. The very first time I mixed coffee with tea was when I tried a Dirty Chai. If you don't know what it is, it's an espresso shot in a chai latte. Tea lattes are what I like to think of as comfort drinks. When I'm looking for a more robust flavor with a bit of kick, adding an espresso shot is exactly what I need. I make tea lattes with Hackberry teas all the time. Here are some of my favorite combinations. The fullness of tea flavor can vary from tea to tea, so if you like a more robust tea flavor, you may need to add an extra teaspoon or two. I will often use three teaspoons, but more is sometimes necessary depending on how much tea I'd like to taste. We have so many teas at Hackberry that by no means is this an exhaustive list. These recipes are my favorites.
Ingredients
- Your favorite Hackberry loose-leaf tea
- Your favorite Sagebrush coffee brewed to your liking
- Milk of choice
- Sweetener if preferred
Instructions
- Combine 3-4 teaspoons of tea with milk. I use almond milk with all my lattes.
- Steam milk with a frother, steam wand, or over the stove. Sometimes I use a frother, but my proffered method is a pot over the stove.
- Strain tea leaves. Depending on how you steamed milk, the straining process may vary.
- Add sweetener if desired. I don't sweeten all my tea lattes.
- Add espresso shot or drip coffee
- Stir
- Enjoy!
My Tea Recommendations
It wasn't until I joined the Hackberry team that I began to enjoy drinking Chai Teas. I don't know if the others I tried were too sweet or too spicy. I think I may have been trying lower-quality tea. Since I tried it and didn't like it, I figured I was not too fond of Chai. Now I know that nothing could be farther from the truth. Since the Sagebrush shop opened, I have been drinking Chai lattes far more than I ever had before. I like Chai, and I didn't even know it. Our Warm Vanilla Chai with almond milk, a little sweetener, and an espresso shot are the perfect comforting and soothing drink for any time of the day. This is my current favorite drink.
The Strawberry Hazelnut Pu-erh with an espresso shot has a perfect blend of nutty, fruity, and bold. A very gentle strawberry taste lingers, which makes it delicious. Generally, I wouldn't say I like fruit and coffee, but when you blend it with the soft milky foam and the nutty flavor of the hazelnut, it has a very balanced flavor. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I tried it. This one is a close second to the Warm Vanilla Dirty Chai.
I love the flavor of coconut, so I loved this one. If you love coconut, you'll love it as a tea latte with or without an espresso shot. They are both delicious. You may need to add some extra tea for a bolder coconut flavor if you want. I haven't had this one as often as others because I'm not always in the mood for coconut, but it's a go-to when I want to change things up a little.
I went out on a limb on this one, I have to be honest. The Bourbon Cream Black is not one of my favorite Hackberry teas. I don't really like the Bourbon flavor. But you never know until you try something. When you blend espresso and steamed milk, the Bourbon flavor was more enjoyable than I expected. The sweetness was unique and soothing. Someone mentioned that sweetening it with honey would make it better. I may try that next to see if adding a little extra flavor will enhance it even more. I never thought I would recommend the Bourbon Cream Black, but here I am, suggesting it.
Try your own combination of tea and coffee, and let us know about your experience!
