Isn’t life just a bit better when you hold a warm cup of tea? I made a special one, with rose syrup.
I’m a coffee lover, this is my morning ritual and there are quite a few recipes with shots of espresso thrown in them around the blog. But now that the weather is cold, we need a warm cup to hold on to. It doesn’t need to be coffee.
British milky tea is not my strong point. I have repeatedly tried but to no avail, it simply doesn’t sit well with me. I will forever admire the ability of Brits to sip on heavily sugared, milky tea. The first time I tried, it was so hot, I must have scorched my throat as I could taste nothing for days. It was a simple affair ever since: avoid milky, piping hot liquids.
Black tea is a wonderful thing, we have become all too familiar with it, we rarely give it a second thought. Growing up in Greece to have a black cup of tea it was an emergency! Maybe you had a bit of temperature or your stomach was not at its best. It was a remedy, accompanied by a humble dry rusk to soothe and nourish rather than lift the spirits.
As we find ourselves at home, far, far away from any tea place to enjoy the ritual, it is only fair to bring it to the spotlight and give it a facelift: pink milky tea, fragrant as a rose garden.
Traditionally, rose syrup is used for the traditional Greek Cypriot dessert mahalepi, a light cream made with rice flour and milk which is then served with the syrup. Rose syrup is a favourite Middle-Eastern ingredient, a deduction of dried rose petals. You can very well use it as any cordial and it’s ideal to jazz up your cup of tea. It does smell wonderful.
To make your own rose tea, simply use a normal bag of tea and add a bit of milk, I used almond milk and a teaspoon of rose syrup.
from London with love,
Eugenia
PS: The rose syrup was a gift from Greek Deli 2 U
by 
Ohhhh, this sounds delicious Eugenia 🙂
Thanks so much dear Sophie! I’m not really a crazy for pink kind of girl but this rose tea is a delight! So fragrant. 🙂
I had to laugh at your comments about black tea being used only in an emergency by Greeks. I’m a Greek Australian and I totally love my black tea. I miss it so much when I am in Greece as it just doesn’t taste the same there. By the time I land in the U.K (if I am stopping on my way home) I am gasping for a cup of tea and it’s usually the first thing I have. I am also crazy about rose flavouring. I had never thought of using it in tea. Thank you for the tip. I will definitely be trying it.
Black tea in Greece is tricky business! I have learned to appreciate our wonderful herbal teas with time, like the mountain tea, sideritis or tilio. Rose is a lovely syrup, and as with all syrups and molasses they get into smoothies but we definitely need their warmer version in winter time. I’m sure you are going to love it Sophia! it’s a very fragrant sweet treat. 🙂