Custom blend tea is a term for a blend of tea made to certain specifications. Custom blend teas can be made by anyone, from any variety of ingredients.
Usually custom blend teas are made by blending a tea with herbs, spices or fruits. The herbs, spices and fruits are used to enhance the taste of the tea.
However, different varieties of tea can also be combined to create a custom blend tea. For instance, the ever-popular Earl Grey is a mixture of several tea varieties, as well as some fruit.
Indian custom blend tea
India has had a popular tradition of creating custom blend tea with spices. The term for Indian custom team blends is Masala Chai. Masala Chai usually features Indian black tea mixed with a variety of spices.
Some of the common spices used are green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and ginger.
Assam tea is mainly used for making Chai, as it is strong-tasting tea that will not be overwhelmed by strong spices.
Earl Grey - A successful custom blend tea
Earl Grey is the world's most popular tea. It began as a custom blend tea, made for the second Earl Grey by his tea merchant, Twinings.
Earl Grey is a custom blend tea of several black teas, along with bergamot oil - oil extracted from the rind of a small, acidic orange. Earl Grey is a mixture of Chinese tea, Darjeeling tea, Ceylon tea and Lapsang souchong, one of the strongest-tasting tea varieties.
Similar to the Earl Grey is the Lady Grey, which features the same black tea blend but also includes Seville orange and lemon as well as bergamot oil.
Tazo Tea - Modern custom blend tea
Tazo Tea is a modern variety of custom blend tea. Modern-day Tazo Tea was created in 1994 by Steve Smith, who intended to create the most intriguing teas available based on specific blends and premium-quality teas.
There are currently over 80 varieties of Tazo Tea. They are categorized under Black, Green and Herbal tea.
Some of these custom blend teas are infused with fruit juices (common choices being orange and apple), or herbs such as lemongrass and licorice root.
