Recipe: Bubbly Jasmine Tea Mocktail

If you love the floral aroma and pick me-up-you get from a steaming cup of jasmine tea, it’s time to turn this traditionally hot drink into a fast and fancy sparkling mocktail. Tea-infused cocktails are more popular than ever, and while this one skips the booze, it goes big on flavor. It comes together for a fragrant, easy-to-make sparkler that goes with most desserts and dinners.

This sparkling mocktail starts with the floral, delicate aroma of strongly steeped and chilled jasmine tea. It’s swirled with golden syrup, the thick, rich sweetener, before it’s topped off with splash of bubbly tonic water for balance.

More on jasmine tea: What You Should Know About Jasmine Tea

For a better tea-infused minimalist cocktail, skip the heat in favor of cold brewing. This simple process treats you to a more smooth and delicate, full-flavored drink minus the bitterness than can sometimes come with hot tea. It’s just what we want for a light spring drink.

Make the cold-brewed jasmine tea: Cold brewing is easy and doesn’t ask much more of you than a little forward thinking and some time. Add one bag of jasmine tea (your choice of green, white, or black) or 1 to 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea to a cup of cold water. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, or up to overnight. Remove the tea bag or strain the tea leaves before mixing the drink.

For each drink, fill a tall glass with ice and pour in the cold-brewed jasmine tea. Add a spoonful of golden syrup and stir until dissolved, then top off with tonic water.

It’s time to go beyond seltzer, soda, and juice — shaking up booze-free drinks that actually feel fancy and fun is easier than you think. This series on sober celebrations will show you how to whip up super-impressive mocktails with just three basic ingredients.