All cocktails don't need to be served cold and all tea does not need to be just tea. So you are free to decide if you wish to call this drink a warm cocktail or next-level tea, it is delicious either way.
Truth be told, I usually don't like adding anything that contains calories to my drinks. Alcoholic beverages are an exception, but I never drink milk, juice, or lemonade if I am thirsty, and I never add any sweeteners to my hot beverages. But I needed to create a hot cocktail for an event and just serving tea did not cut it, so I experimented a little and am super happy with the result.
Rooibos has a nice warmness to its taste, and mango with passionfruit complements it well. At the same time, Aperol, which is a super nice summer drink with sparkling wine, gives it slightly bitter notes and it all balances out to my liking. It is not going to be my go-to drink while reading a book late in the evening, but I am definitely serving it as an aperitif at my next autumn dinner party!
Hot Tropical Rooibos Tea Cocktail
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
½ oz Monin passionfruit syrup
½ oz mango puree
½ oz fresh lemon juice
1 ½ oz Aperol (or Lyre’s non-alco Italian Spritz that tastes exactly like Aperol)
Rooibos tea
Orange peel, star anise, and pink peppercorns to garnish
Instructions:
Mix the passionfruit syrup, mango puree, lemon juice, and Aperol in a mug.
Top with previously prepared hot rooibos tea.
Garnish and enjoy.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.