Step Aside Pimms!

Alcoholic Tea is the New Kid on the Block

Step aside Pimms, your time is up! Combining the nation's two greatest loves of tea and alcohol; alcoholic tea could be the next big thing.

Alcoholic tea is emerging as a trend for summer drinks and afternoon tea following the development of the world's first cold-brewed tea with spirit (NOVELTEA)

 Blending two British favourites - tea and alcohol - NOVELTEA is the world's first cold-brewed tea with spirit, served ready-to-drink either hot or cold and delivers a refreshing alternative to Pimms or prosecco for afternoon tea. 

NOVELTEA currently offers two blends.The Tale of Earl Greywhich is made by blending Earl Grey tea with British gin to deliver notes of Bergamot oil that enrich the taste of the tea.The Tale of Tangierblends Moroccan green mint tea with rum to deliver hints of exotic fruit and floral citrus notes, to create a soft and sweet tasting tea.

When keen mixologists and founders of NOVELTEA - Lukas Passia and Vincent Efferoth - first moved from Germany to Britain as students, afternoon tea was a completely new experience for them. After noticing that Brits often enjoy a glass of champagne or prosecco with their scones and sandwiches, they were surprised to find no alcoholic tea blends on the market.

The Tale of Tangier (left) and The Tale of Earl Grey (right) by NOVELTEA

Yet NOVELTEA is not one to rest on its laurels and will launch a new alcoholic tea blend within the next few months. They're staying tight-lipped on this one; but have said that the new blend will incorporate Chinese Oolong tea with another popular spirit.

Efferoth said: "Inspired by the tea's origins, NOVELTEA's unique concept creates quite an experience; like something you've never tasted before. Pimms is having its moment right now, but we are determined for NOVELTEA to become even more popular. We are looking to create blends with a wide range of spirits, so that there is a choice to suit everyone's taste."

One sign that alcoholic teas are hot right now is the increase in bars stocking of tea-based cocktails. NOVELTEA is a key ingredient for these cocktails, which create more ways to enjoy tea the trendy way.

NOVELTEA's 8-hour cold-brewing process uses actual loose leaf tea instead of tea extract to create superior flavour, which is also gluten-free, vegan and free from artificial flavours and colourings.

ENDS

Media Contacts:

Chrissie Plunkett

chrissie@twistmarketing.co.uk07817 803234

Radu Firanescu

radu@tea-venture.com07703 158627

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Lukas Passia and Vincent Efferoth set up NOVELTEA with the help of the Rise Up Founderships programme at Newcastle University. In late 2017, they launched a crowdfunding campaign to support their vision of expanding overseas. Their original £120,000 target was surpassed in just 26 hours, to achieve£220,000 in six days

• Such is NOVELTEA's popularity, they have been nominated for an SIAL Innovation award. They are now in the final ten, down from 447 submissions. The winner will be announced on the 16th May 2018 in Shanghai, China. Passia had previously embarked on a trade mission in China for the Department of International Trade and NOVELTEA launched its range of alcoholic tea blends in China in February 2018

• The gin and tea craze show no signs of slowing down, with over 47 million bottles of sold in the UK last year, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. As a nation, we consume 60 billion cups of tea annually, say the UK Tea and Infusions Association

• The Tale of Earl Grey -A rich taste ofEarl Greytea infused with juniper and British gin

RRP:£9.95 for 25cl and £24.95 for 70cl(11% abv.)  (Stocked by John Lewis - gin brand of the month)

• The Tale of Tangier -An exotic infusion of Moroccan green mint teawithsp­­earmint, dried lemongrass, dried apple, blackberry leaves and Caribbean rum

RRP:£9.95 for 25cl and £24.95 for 70cl

• Both Tales are cold-brewed in the UK and are vegan, gluten-free and free from any artificial colours

• In March 2018, John Lewis listed NOVELTEA as their gin brand of the month across every store

• In November 2017, NOVELTEA were awarded the ‘Start-Up of the Year Award 2017' at Aagrah's Annual Hospitality Awards

• In July 2017, NOVELTEA announced its listing with Harrods, UK

• NOVELTEA cocktail recipes:

• G&TEATHYME
• GRAND EARL TEA
• EARL GREY ROSE
• PASSION FOR TEA
• VICTORIAN TEA
• GARDEN MARTINI