Let Freedom Steep: Celebrate with Red, White & Brew
With the nation’s 249th birthday party about to spark to life—tomorrow!—we think it’s a perfect time to celebrate independence and freedom. And given tea’s important role in the nation’s beginning, let’s mark the holiday with our favorite beverage.
The month’s emancipation-trumpeting holiday finds its anchor on the events of July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the 13 colonies as sovereign, and separate from Great Britain. Americans participated in the first July 4 celebration just one year later, in 1777, and they’ve been honoring the holiday ever since.
It took until 1870, however, for it to become a federal holiday, and in 1938 congress voted to make it a paid federal holiday.
On this day, we recognize those who fought for the liberty we have savored for close to a quarter of a millennium. To do so, we party—park picnics, backyard barbecues and house blowouts, with fireworks on tap for night.
We scarf down hot dogs ribboned with mustard, thrill to ice cream striped in flag colors and, of course, we drink loads of iced tea—when we aren’t enjoying a frigid ale (the beer style preferred by colonists) or a drink spiked with rum (the most common spirit during the early days of the republic).
For the tea front, this year let’s make it especially festive, with teas that capture red, white and blue. Whether you take your teas iced or hot, the following trio will belt out the Star Spangled Banner with every sip. And don’t relegate these beauties to just one brew a year—steep and sip them year-round!
Happy July 4th!
July 4 Teas: Paradise Peach Fruit Tea (Red)
For many immigrants around the world, the United States has long been championed as a kind of paradise—a place where hard-working people can start businesses, build families and get ahead in life. In many ways, the country’s paradisal qualities have always revolved around its freedoms—this is not the land of dictators, kings and autocrats. It’s the crucible of democracy worldwide, and stands as a paradise country for many.
This superb tea nails the red part of the flag, thanks to hibiscus and rosehip. Those lovely botanicals both broadcast red hues when brewed. To those gems we add apple and orange, for key flavor boosts. It’s a ruby beauty!
July 4 Teas: Milk Oolong with coconut milk (White)
White, which isn’t a color, is tougher to craft by just brewing tea. It takes cream, and a tea that brews into a light color, to bring on the snow vibes. That’s what we’ve done here—and you’ll love the result.
Our milk oolong has persisted as a Ku Cha favorite for many years. The scrumptious oolong from Taiwan delivers flavor gorgeousness on its own, thanks to the high quality of the tea and the process tea artisans follow to make it. Among other things, they steam the tea leaves in a non-dairy creamer before roasting them. The creamy texture that results has won legions of fans.
Brew this standout, spike with a creamer of your choice, and voila—white tea!
July 4 Teas: Blue Butterfly Green Tea (Blue)
Not many natural food ingredients can create the color blue. While blue is fairly common in nature, especially among flowers, it doesn’t figure largely into the culinary tradition of any culture. Food coloring added to cupcakes doesn’t count.
Blue butterfly pea flowers, however, bring on the cerulean! But first, the key botanical ingredient—an anthocyanin called delphinidin—must meet an acid, like lemon juice. When the two meet—sapphire fireworks! Although to be fair, the color might flirt a bit more with purple than blue. Either way, it makes for a delicious and visually arresting tea—especially for the Fourth. The ingredient has become extremely popular with bartenders. At least one gin even has it added to the spirit formula.
To turn that tea blue, add a drop of lemon to the elixir after it’s been brewed.
This wonderful blend, which is based on green tea, also incorporates jasmine, strawberry and papaya for its celebrated flavors.
