summer teas
Catherine Lawson
Tea drinking might be a favourite nationwide pastime, but in Ayrshire our love affair with tea is laced with the romance of midnight smugglers, armed merchant ships and hidden coves. Back in the 1700s, the Ayrshire coast was home to many illegally imported cargoes, as merchants side-stepped exorbitant taxes. Troon, Largs, and the caves under Culzean Castle became regular hiding places for tea, tobacco, spirits and silks until such time as the government lowered taxes. Smuggling is a rich part of our coastline’s history; it’s only because of those illegal cargoes that the people of Ayrshire were able to afford what would otherwise have been a luxury beverage for the upper classes.
We’ve come a long way since the days of loose-leaf black tea padded out with an assortment of tree leaves and – wait for it – sheep dung. Tastes, and health and safety standards, have since improved, opening the way for the tea industry to grow exponentially into an industry now estimated to be worth USD 74 million. Though black tea is still the most commonly consumed variety in the UK today, green tea and caffeine free herbal infusions are also gathering pace as the nation looks for healthier alternatives to the traditional cuppa.
Summer offers the perfect moment to experiment with our thirst-quenching brews: whether served hot or cold, tea is still one of the best ways to hydrate and stay cool in the heat. Perhaps it’s an opportunity to experiment with brighter, lighter tastes such as Earl Grey or Ceylon, served with lemon, not milk. Or maybe the fresh hint of grass in green tea or the floral subtleties in white, are better suited to those slow afternoons in the sun. And if uncaffeinated is what you’re looking for, peppermint (fresh or bagged) steeped in hot water is hard to beat for heat that cools you from the inside out.
If, however, you’d rather something cold and icy on a hot summer’s day, then iced teas, made popular in America at the turn of the 20th century, might be your perfect brew. As with hot teas, the possibilities are endless, but most begin with a base of either black or green tea which has been flavoured and sweetened to taste. A pitcher of iced tea served with slices of fresh peach and sprigs of mint might just be the most refreshing ‘cuppa’ you’ve ever had. Or maybe you’ll go old school, opting for the simplicity of lemon alone to bring flavour and fragrance to your afternoon tea.
There are countless ways to shake up your tea drinking habits his summer, whether you’re sipping it hot or swigging it cold. Experimenting with new flavours might be your bag, with flowers and fruits adding sunshine to your day, or maybe your usual cup of your favourite blend will be your steadfast companion this summer. Either way, for those of us living in Ayrshire, our tea offers more than a moment of calm; it offers a brief connection to the past and a time when smugglers’ ships sailed our shores.
