Flavourful Winter Tea Blends to Make & Gift
Winter is the best time to try out some new tea blends and flavours. I have gathered nine different winter tea recipes that are perfect to enjoy right away, or mix up and store in a glass jar to give as a gift to any tea lover.
Many of these winter tea mixes have black tea and rooibos as the main flavour, for they have a more earthy taste that fits into the wintertime.
If you want a caffeine-free tea, try the tea mixes with rooibos or hibiscus petals, or my ginger infusion with lemon, which are all under the Theine-free winter infusion mixes header later in this post.
Winter tea recipes with true tea
These winter tea blends have true tea leaves, the camellia sinensis, in them. If you are newer in tea, make sure to grab my tea steeping cheat sheet below to get you started!
Cardamom tea
Simple green tea with cardamom. Crush the cardamom pods before steeping the Cardamom tea to get full flavour.
Use 1-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml about 80°C (176°F) water. Steep for 1-2 minutes, not longer to avoid bitter notes in your tea. Sweeten with sugar if you prefer.
- 3 parts green tea (Gunpowder for example)
- 5 parts green cardamom pods
TRY WITH THIS: Spiced kefir cake with cardamom
Short on time?
Pin it for later!
Spiced winter tea
Spiced winter tea is a pleasure to drink to get stable energy during the day without an instant energy spike and collapse of the coffe.
Use 2-3 tsp of the mixture per cup of 250ml hot water. Steep for max 5 minutes. Strain and serve hot. Sweeten with sugar or add some milk if you prefer.
- 1 part black tea (Assam or Darjeeling)
- 1 part cinnamon stick
- 1/2 part cloves
- 1 part star anise
- 1 part green cardamom pods
TRY WITH THIS: Danish cinnamon swirls
Simple chai with black tea
Simple chai tea starts with black tea, which gives the body and the short list of spices to make it quite simple and straightforward.
Use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml hot water and steep for 2-4 minutes. Sweeten with sugar or honey if you desire.
- 3 parts black tea (Assam, or Yunnan for example)
- 1 part crushed cinnamon bark
- 1 part cloves
- 1 part cardamom pods
RELATED: How to brew a perfect loose leaf tea
Nordic Winter tea
This simple tea is calling for Nordic Christmas with the amazing aroma that the spruce shoots give!
Use 1-2 teaspoons per cup of 250ml about 80°C (176°F) water and steep for 1-2 minutes, not any longer to avoid bitter notes in your tea.
- 3 parts of green tea (Sencha for example)
- 1 part dried spruce shoots
- 1 part chopped dried orange peel
| TRY WITH THESE: Orange gingerbread cookies
Winter apple tea
Dried apples are a delight in the winter tea mixes, they give the fruity flavor and ah how they match so well with the cinnamon, it’s like an apple pie in a cup! Pair with the real Finnish apple pie to make the flavour experience complete.
Use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml hot water and steep for 2-5 minutes.
- 6 parts black tea (Ceylon or Assam for example)
- 2 parts dried apple cubes
- 1 part crushed cinnamon bark
- 1/2 part of almond flakes
Theine-free winter infusion recipes
These winter infusion blends are a simple pleasure to enjoy, also later in the evening, for they don’t contain any theine (aka caffeine) in them. We are using herbals such as hibiscus, rooibos, and lemongrass to avoid theine completely.
Hibiscus winter herbal tea
This winter tea gets its robust flavour from the hibiscus petals, and the warm spices complement it beautifully. With dried rose petals, you have some floral notes in the hibiscus winter tea as well.
If you love hibiscus, try as well my Nordic glogg recipe with hibiscus, black currant juice, and warm spices. It is the Nordic way to enjoy the wintertime to spice up the juice and serve it hot!
Use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml hot water and steep for 3-4 minutes. Sweeten with sugar or honey if you desire.
- 6 parts dried hibiscus petals
- 1 part cinnamon bark
- 1 part dried ginger root
- 1 part dried rose petals
- 1 part dried turmeric
- 1/2 part cloves
- 1/2 part dried orange peel
Rooibos chai herbal tea
Chai tea fits perfectly into a winter mindset. It is warming and cozy, and if you are dreding the theine (aka caffeine) in black tea, this recipe is your friend.
I started to play around with rooibos chai mixture when my daughter loved to make and drink chai latte with me. I didn’t want to let her drink too much theine (especially before bedtime), so I swapped black tea for rooibos to make it theine-free.
You can try my rooibos chai latte recipe too, and let me know in the comments below if you love it as much as my daughter does!
Use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml hot water and steep for 3-4 minutes. Sweeten with sugar or dark syrup if you want it sweeter.
- 6 parts rooibos
- 1 part cardamom
- 1 part cinnamon
- 1 part cloves
- 1 part ginger
- 1 part black pepper
- 1 part nutmeg
- 1 part liquorice root
RELATED: Theine vs. Caffeine: How to balance your energy naturally
Rooibos Gingerbread tea
In the winter, one of the most enjoyable things in winter is the scent of the gingerbreads. This rooibos tea has the cozy Christmassy gingerbread scent, and it is so amazing with traditional rye gingerbreads, just dunking in!
Use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of 250ml hot water and steep for 2-5 minutes.
- 6 parts rooibos
- 2 parts cinnamon bark
- 1 part cardamom pods
- 1 part ginger
- 1 part chamomile petals
- 1/4 part saffron petals
Ginger infusion with lemon
This recipe is not actually a tea, like the other theine-free recipes here, for it does not contain any tea itself, so I named it an infusion.
Use 2-3 tsp per cup of 250ml of almost boiling water. Let steep for 5 minutes. Serve with lemon slices and honey, and strain the ginger tea on top.
- 1 part dried ginger cubes or slices
- 1 part dried lemongrass stalks
RELATED: Tea, Tisane, Herbal Tea, Decoction: What’s The Difference?
Short on time?
Pin it for later!
