Amaretto tea refers to a tea that has been flavored with Amaretto, an Italian liqueur with the distinctive taste of almonds. Amaretto is usually made using apricot or peach kernel pits. The name Amaretto is Italian for "a little bitter", referring to its bittersweet taste.
Amaretto tea is normally made by blending Amaretto with black tea. Amaretto tea can also be made by blending Amaretto with green tea or rooibos tea, but these methods are not as common.
Amaretto brands
The most popular brand of Amaretto is the Amaretto Di Saronno (translated as: "from Saronno"). It is an amber-red liqueur and contains 28.0% alcohol. Amaretto Di Saronno is the main Amaretto that is used to create Amaretto tea.
Amaretto Di Saronno has a long history. It is claimed that this brand of Amaretto was made as a gift by the lover of painter Bernardino Luini in 1525. Luini was commissioned to paint a fresco of the Madonna for the Santa Maria delle Grazie church in Saronno, and had attempted to hire his lover to pose.
Another brand of Amaretto is Lazzaroni Amaretto, also produced in Saronno. Lazzaroni Amaretto has been in production since 1851 and contains 21.0% alcohol.
Preparation of Amaretto tea
There are several methods of making Amaretto tea.
The most popular methods of making Amaretto tea is combining 6 oz of hot tea, with 2 oz of Amaretto and 1 oz of whipped cream. The tea is poured into a pousse-cafe glass (a tall, narrow glass with a small stem and a wide base) with a spoon, to prevent the glass from cracking. Amaretto is then poured into the tea, but it is not stirred. The tea is then topped with whipped cream and is ready for serving.
A variant of Amaretto tea is Amaretto Russian Tea. This is made using 1 oz of vodka, 1 oz of Amaretto and 6 oz of hot tea. Amaretto Russian Tea can be flavored using 2 oz of flavor mix or schnapps.
