Display an array of herbs, spices, seeds and flowers for guests to blend from
If you want to be the hostess with the mostess by providing a uniquely interactive, unforgettable experience, at your party or gathering, then creating an herbal tea bar is your answer. It takes some prep and planning, but once your guests leave happily with their own herbal tea of their making, you’ll find it’s worth every bit of effort.
It’s all in the composition. Think like a song, it needs a combination of low, mid and high notes. The tea needs to start with a solid foundation, what we call a base note - lemongrass, chamomile, hibiscus, lemon balm, passion flower - a balanced herb to bring out a symphony of flavor profiles. Then pick your favorite mid-notes - licorice, cardamom, clove, peppermint, rose petals or lemon peel. Finally, the fun part is to finish your unique blend with a high note - lavender, peppercorn, cinnamon, ginger. High notes tend to pack a punch, so apply a deft hand and use judiciously, as too much can easily overwhelm your cup.
First steps, choose your ingredient offerings. Store the ingredients in glass jars for the event so guests get a clear visual on the herbs; not to mention it makes for a pretty display! Key tip, Jadetiger prefers organically sourced ingredients, easily found at your local tea shop or Amazon. While we don’t have scientific measure, Jadetiger receives consistent feedback about the quality of each tea cup; we credit that to the effort we focus on sourcing small tea estates and organic herbal. Choose an open counter or tabletop to display lidded jars. Use a label maker to identify each ingredient jar clearly. Place a kitchen scale, stack of note paper and pens in case guests choose to keep track of their measurements/ingredients used.
Next, Then gather all the supplies needed (list below) and set a separate work table where guests will take ingredients back with them to blend.
As they blend, encourage guests to smell, touch, and keep a balanced approach (not too spicy, too heavy on one ingredient, not too many clashing notes) and to keep their blend focused (choose a theme: minty, spiced, cleansing, calming).
As a final touch, ask guests to create a name for their special blend. Provide labels and markers for guests to affix on their jars. Remind everyone to take home a small stack of teabags to place 3 grams of tea per tea mug. Final touches on either the bar or blending table would be to add flower arrangements, sprinkle flower petals around each place setting, or print suggested herbal tea recipes from Google.
After having hosted countless herbal blending classes and make-your-own bars, I find that it can be more fun enjoying the process through watching everyone’s smiles, laughter, and feelings of accomplishment they walk away with for creating something they can enjoy over and over. I have no doubt when you host your tea bar, you’ll experience the same joie de tea! Please do share your tea bar and your guests blends on Instagram @jadetigertea. We’re excited to see how it goes!
Tea’gredients:
Cardamom, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clove, Echinacea, Fever Few, Hibiscus, Ginger, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lemon Peel, Lemongrass, Licorice, Passion Flower, Peppercorn, Peppermint, Rose Petals, Tumeric
Supplies (one for each guest):
16 oz mason jars with lids
Kitchen scale (place next to herbs on display for guests to keep track of measurements, if they’d like)
Mixing bowls (highly recommend metal bowls since plastic absorbs the oils and aromas and take away from the freshness of herbs and spices)
Mixing spoons & service gloves for blending
Take home tea bags (remind guests to fill 3 g of tea per tea bag, per mug) LINK: https://shorturl.at/TxKFw
Labels & markers (so guests can name their blend and affix on their jar as a finishing touch)
