By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Summertime mocktails are trendy these days. A recent lesson in making tea mocktails provided three interesting drinks and an ode to the Wood County Museum.
Summer Kitchen girls and sisters Karla Militello and Karrie Meyer brought their tea-making skills to the museum to teach the latest fad in refreshing and nonalcoholic drinks at the sold-out event.
More and more people are embracing an alcohol-free lifestyle, or if not completely alcohol-free, at least “sober curious.” An article in Forbes said the not-so-fleeting movement “refers to individuals becoming more mindful of their alcohol consumption without necessarily committing to complete abstinence” or they are “exploring a healthier relationship with drinking.”
Data from a survey of over 1,000 Americans 21 or older by NCSolutions, a New York-based advertising services firm, found the drinking culture in America is changing.
From the survey, 41% plan to drink less alcohol in 2024, and 42% believe Gen Z is leading the sober curious trend to save money, improve physical health, boost mental health and lose weight.
Overall, Americans are drinking less and trying nonalcoholic beverage options. According to NCSolutions, over one in three Americans tried a non-alcoholic drink in 2023, with mocktails topping the list as the number one choice, followed by THC & CBD-infused drinks, nonalcoholic beer, nonalcoholic spirits and nonalcoholic wine.
With mocktails at the top of the nonalcoholic beverage list, events like the museum’s tea mocktail event attract a lot of interest by people looking to try new and different recipes.
Erica Krause and Brendan O’Donnell “came for the mocktails because we don’t drink,” O’Donnell explained. Krause also tries to limit her caffeine. The museum workshop was a perfect night out for the young pair, where they could taste tea mocktails and take home some new recipes.
Militello and Meyer have been in the tea business for nearly 30 years. Their store, The Summer Kitchen Interiors on Route 6 one half-mile west of Helena, specializes in a mix of vintage and new fun gifts for home and garden and a various loose-leaf teas.
“We have created four specialty teas for the museum,” said Militello, including Sweet Summertime, a fruit tea; Brande-Berry Maple Muffin, a honeybush tea in honor of Frank Brandeberry, a former Wood County Infirmary superintendent; A Country Home Christmas black tea; and Cucumber Watermelon green tea.
They also have produced teas for Beeker’s in Pemberville and the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums in Fremont.
“If you haven’t tried loose-leaf tea, once you do, you will never go back,” Meyer told the group. She converted from the convenience of teabags to loose-leaf tea after she tasted the difference.
The Wood County Museum’s Sweet Summertime and Brande-Berry Maple Muffin were featured in two of the three mocktail recipes they made.
For the presentation, Militello and Meyer concocted a lavender syrup for the Sweet Summertime mocktail, a peach shrub for the drink to honor Peaches the museum barn cat, and a mystical, purplish mixture for Night at the Museum.
They combined lavender and blueberries to create a beautiful lavender syrup, then added fresh mint to the already-brewed Sweet Summertime tea before shaking it up with ice.
“It’s ready when the shaker gets sweaty, meaning it’s nice and cold,” Militello said, though a mason jar or blender cup also works.
The end result is a caffeine-free fruit tea featuring rhubarb, Meyer said. Both the lavender syrup and the tea can be made ahead of time and combined before serving.
The Stray Cat Strut, fashioned after Peaches the barn cat starts with a peach shrub made from fresh or frozen peaches, honey or maple syrup, filtered water, peach tea and apple cider vinegar. The ingredients are combined and heated on the stove until the fruit is smashable and syrupy, Militello said.
The shrub is strained through a mesh strainer and bottled for up to eight months in the refrigerator.
To make the mocktail, place a tablespoon of the peach shrub in the bottom of a glass, fill the glass with ice, and add an ounce each of coconut water, ginger beer or ginger ale, and seltzer or sparkling water. Mix with a twizzle stick and garnish with a peach slice and some thyme.
The Night at the Museum tea was the prettiest with its deep purple hue and edible glitter “fireflies” dancing through the ice. The magic was in the creation, Meyer pointed out.
The mixture of brewed Brande-Berry tea with Butterfly blue pea flowers turned the liquid a vibrant blue. The maple syrup was topped with ice before the tea mixture and sparkling water were added to the glass. When a lime was squeezed into the glass and stirred into the drink, it went from brilliant blue to mystical purple.
O’Donnell said he was looking forward to it until it didn’t taste like the purple Gatorade that it reminded him of. But he and Krause agreed it might suit their tastes if lavender or lemon syrup were used rather than maple. They were still eager to try some of the new mocktail recipes at home.
The recipes were odes to the museum, Militello said. In honor of the teas, with a little help from ChatGPT, here are three odes to the Summer Kitchen-inspired mocktails:
Sweet Summertime Specialty Tea
Oh, Sweet Summertime, a potion of delight, a sparkling tribute to the season’s light.
Tea to Honor Peaches the Museum Barn Cat
To Peaches, the feline of grace and charm, a tea that honors our cat on the farm. Each bubbly, peachy sip we treasure affirms ours is a purrfect friendship beyond measure.
Night at the Museum Tea
As twilight falls, the museum awakes, In this mystical tea, the magic takes. Dark and deep like shadows in the hall, a tea to acknowledge Brandeberry’s great wall.
