Introducing…Our First Ever Sparkling Tea

Over the last few years, like many of us, I’ve noticed myself wanting to drink much less alcohol. I might have been driving home. I might have just wanted to be on form the next day.

Each time I didn’t drink, I noticed something else. Whether it was a big event or a more casual get-together, I’d have better conversations. I’d connect with the people I met more deeply.

We’ve moved on from the days when non-drinkers were just handed a conspicuous glass of orange juice at a champagne reception and left to field all sorts of questions about why they’re abstaining.

Our single garden Jasmine Pearls Sparkling Tea is the perfect pairing for dinner parties as we found out at Michelin-starred Club Gascon

Even though we’re getting past that, there’s only so much sugary fruit juice or sparkling water I can drink on a night out. I wanted an alternative that didn’t just make me feel included but delivered that sense of occasion too. I also wanted it to be interesting enough to drink over the course of an event, and healthy too.

That’s a lot to ask, but turns out I wasn’t the only one wondering…

It’s widely reported that at least 1/3 of adults are drinking less alcohol in recent years* and since as early as 2015, we’ve been being asked by the chefs and sommeliers to create alcohol-free alternatives to traditional wine pairing menus or cocktails – or healthy, nonalcoholic flavoursome tea drinks for that champagne moment.

Our first ever sparkling tea made with single garden, supreme grade Jasmine Pearls

I’d had an idea that single garden tea could work for these moments – it’s got amazing, pure flavours with wow-factor and it’s good for you – but I also knew that it would be about drinking a cool, sparkling drink out of a glass – not a hot tea - on these occasions.

It’s taken a few years of experimentation to get from hot tea to this delicately sparkling cold infused tea in a bottle. You can find out how Tom and the team did it – with a little help from a sommelier and a Michelin-starred chef.

I’m delighted to confirm their incredible effort has been worth it.

Tom, head of tea at JING, experimenting with sparkling tea recipes in our head office tasting room

I love what we have come up with because it's light and refreshing and really is the taste of pure single garden tea. It’s sparkling, which gives it a sense of celebration, and it’s adult (not full of sugar), which means I can drink it throughout an evening without feeling a sense of sickly overwhelm. Its subtlety means discovering depths of flavour that I didn’t notice at the start so it keeps me interested and I go home feeling uplifted and ready for a good sleep and a good feeling in the morning.

I hope you like it too.

*Lumina Intelligence Pub Market Report 2019