As some of you readers may remember, I was given a pack of teabags some months back from Te[a] Tonic which I promised to write about here on Gin Tonic Time. The box is what they call a “nanopack”and it’s a set that comes with each of their 6 different flavours, suitable for different gins and cocktails. They are categorized by colour: red, green, yellow, pink, orange and white. The idea is to leave a pyramidal silk teabag filled with a combination of herbs and seeds soaking in the gin at room temperature prior to adding the rest of the ingredients to the drink.
Nothing like an elegant garnish to accompany this warm coloured cocktail!
Before I was given this pack, I must confess I was somewhat skeptical of using these in a drink. Their website states that by using one of their teabags, it can “…balance the aroma and flavour of the Gin and Tonic; highlighting its essence.” I beg to differ from this as I believe that adding more flavours to a G&T leaves it in a less pure state, disallowing you to sample both the gin and the tonic as the makers originally intended. That having been said, one should keep an open mind. It never hurts to try something new everyday.
For my first Te[a] Tonic experience, I decided to try the one they suggest pairing with Hendrick’s Gin. Seeing as I had some left on my shelf, I thought this would be the perfect chance to give this new concept a whirl. The teabag used is called Green Fresh and it combines herby aromas from dried cucumber, lemon rind, lemon verbena, cardamom, juniper berries and physalis. They recommend using this with citric gins like Tanqueray Ten or Beefeater.
Hendrick’s Gin + Fever Tree Tonic Water + Cucumber + Green Fresh Te[a] Tonic
Te[a] Tonic bag left to work its magic.
Using the Te[a] Tonic bag for the first time was an interesting experience as I had never thought about doing something like this to prepare a G&T before. I reviewed the instructions on their website a number of times to make sure I got it right since, for some reason, the ones provided in the pack were slightly different from the ones in their website and it got slightly confusing. I eventually decided to follow the former. They key is to respect the 5/20 rule (meaning 5cl of gin to every 20cl of tonic water).
After leaving the Green Fresh teabag infusing between 4-6 minutes with the Hendrick’s gin, I noticed its colour yellowed – just like a regular teabag does. This detail I did welcome as typically I think a little hue adds flare to the final product.
Infused Hendrick’s (background) vs. Standard Hendrick’s (foreground).
As for the drink, I found it distinctly more bitter and acidic than when having a normal Hendrick’s-Fever Tree combo. It was less sweet on the palate and the characteristic flavour of the cucumber was also somewhat less pronounced. This being Hendrick’s signature garnish, I was expecting Te[a] Tonic to preserve or enhance it.
All in all, there was less of the pure Hendrick’s flavour and it lost its smooth texture in favour of a somewhat less refined, rougher feel. Personally, this was not my cup of tea (if you forgive the pun…), but different strokes for different folks.
I’ve still got 5 more Te[a] Tonic bags to go through, however. I shall continue this exciting gin-exploration and share my thoughts with you along the way.
Find out more about the products mentioned in this post below.
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Hendrick’s Gin
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Gin Tonic Time 