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

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