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About This Syrup
If you want to save time and skip some of the mess when making a syrup, steeping flavored tea bags is your answer.
I made this syrup for the first time for the Gandalf’s Smoke Ring, a The Lord of The Rings cocktail that we created in honor of the release of The Rings of Power show. As can be deduced from its name, it was inspired by Gandalf, a wizard in the original movie trilogy. Since he’s known in the later movies as “Gandalf The White,” it felt fitting that we use white tea in the drink in some way, so I landed on making a white tea syrup. This is the recipe we used in the cocktail.
Syrup Ingredients
To make this simple syrup, you’ll need the following ingredients:
White Tea: This is a type of tea with a delicate flavor that is made from the minimally processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. I used Twining’s 100% Pure White Tea.
White Sugar: This is a sweetener. I used a generic white sugar from our local grocery store.
Water: This turns the syrup into a liquid. I prefer to use filtered water to prevent contamination.
How to Make This Syrup
When making syrups, I prefer to make most of ours using the sous vide method, but I made this one on the stovetop because the tea only needs to steep for about half an hour.
To make this syrup, you’ll need the following tools:
Saucepan: This is what the syrup ingredients are placed inside to cook.
Silicone Spatula: This is used to stir the syrup. I use OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatulas because their flexibility allows them to stir and wipe the syrups out of the pan more thoroughly than spoons.
Fine Mesh Strainer: This is used to remove solid ingredients from the syrup during the transfer process. I use the Barfly Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer because its tightly woven mesh is excellent for removing small seeds and pieces of fruit.
Funnel: This is used to transfer the syrup from the bag to the storage containers without making a mess. I prefer to use a small silicone funnel because that type is flexible and easy to store.
Squeeze Bottle: This is used to store the syrup in the refrigerator for immediate use. I prefer OXO Good Grips Squeeze Bottles because they are high quality.
Storage Pouch with Pouring Spout: This is used to store extra syrup in the freezer for later use.
How to Store This Syrup
Once the syrup is made, it will need to be kept cool to preserve its freshness. Whether it will be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer affects the type of container I use, and I make the decision on where to store it based on when I expect to use some or all of the syrup in cocktails.
Refrigerator Storage: I will usually store our syrups in the refrigerator when I plan to use them in a cocktail either right away or within a few days. If that’s the case, I will store some in a condiment squeeze bottle so I can easily pour the syrup into a jigger when I make the drink. It’s rare that I need all sixteen ounces right away though, so I often keep some in the refrigerator and will transfer the rest of the syrup to a pouch so it can be frozen and used later.
Freezer Storage: I will usually store our syrups in the freezer when I don’t think I will use them in a cocktail within a week. If that’s the case, I store them in pouches with pouring spouts because those are made with a flexible material that won’t come open as the syrup expands during the freezing process. I will then thaw the pouches in a bowl of water when I want to use the syrup again.
Flavored syrups like this one should last one to two weeks in the refrigerator and can last up to six months if frozen. I recommend listing the date the syrup was made before storing it so you can keep track of when batches should be used or discarded.
Recipe
This recipe yields approximately sixteen ounces of syrup, which is enough for anywhere from fifteen to thirty-five cocktails depending on the amount needed for the drink.
Add hot water to a saucepan.
Heat over high heat until boiling, then remove pan from heat.
Add white tea bags and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
Remove tea bags and return pan to burner over high heat.
Add sugar and heat while stirring for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any tea particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.
Ingredients
Directions
Add hot water to a saucepan.
Heat over high heat until boiling, then remove pan from heat.
Add white tea bags and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
Remove tea bags and return pan to burner over high heat.
Add sugar and heat while stirring for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any tea particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.
Tools We Recommend
More Syrup Recipes
If you like this syrup, here are a few others we make and use in our cocktails that you may enjoy:
Cranberry Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with fresh cranberries, cane sugar, citric acid, and water
Gingerbread Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with gingerbread spice, honey, vanilla extract, white sugar, brown sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water
Blueberry Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with fresh blueberries, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, citric acid, and water
Apple Cinnamon Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and white sugar
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