Red, White (Tea) and Blue Sangria

The ironic thing about working on a cookbook project is that it makes you not want to cook. Reading about, testing, editing and shooting photos of recipes for several months on end saps most of the energy I’d normally have for my home kitchen. When I come home at the end of a cookbook workday, the last thing I want to do is make dinner. The first thing I want to do, however, is make a cocktail.

So while creative new tea-infused food recipes have reached a lull in my tea foodie kitchen, spirited sips featuring tea are making a comeback. Like this recipe for a white tea-infused sangria with strawberries and blueberries.

In this sangria, white tea leaves are cold steeped in a very light white wine for several hours or up to overnight in the fridge. I like using a white Vinho Verde (a young Portuguese wine) for this recipe; it’s inexpensive and refreshing with its slight effervescence. And it’s super light in flavor, so the white tea can really shine through. Steeping the tea leaves right into the wine creates a unique and slightly floral flavor. You can finish the sangria with any kind of fruit, but red and blue berries give it a great 4th of July holiday touch.

Happy cooking and sipping…and happy 4th of July!

By Suzanne Klein, Tea Foodie

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 bottle Vinho Verde white wine (or other super light white wine)

2 tablespoons loose leaf white tea (I used Adagio’s Jasmine Silver Needle)

Ice and 4 glasses

1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries

1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries

Preparation:

Pour the wine into a sealable glass pitcher or jar. Add the tea leaves, seal, and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to overnight. Place a few ice cubes into 4 wine glasses and toss in a small handful of each of the berries. Strain the steeped wine into the glasses and discard the tea leaves.

Tips:

• Using frozen berries is a nice way to keep the sangria colder for longer without watering it down with more ice. Simply throw the fresh berries in the freezer while the tea and wine steep in the fridge.