Amor Fa-Tea
A sweet tea for seasonal transitions
We’re in the (bitter)sweetest time of year, and we need something bittersweet to sip on as summer exhales into fall. Bri Betts of Seed and Spirits created a transitional cocktail that encourages us to embrace, not rush the change. It’s inspired by sweet tea and full of warming spices, perfect for sipping on the back deck in the sunshine or in a sweater on a cool evening. Bri calls on the latin phrase amor fati, which encourages us to radically embrace our fate, not just accept or endure it. We can rage against the coming of winter or rush the slide into fall — or we can embrace this moment for all it has to offer. “We have to be ready to receive what the season wants to give us,” says Bri. “I love a little seasonal tension,”
Bri grew up on a farm before moving to Boston for college, where she got her first bartending job at an eight-seat bar in the North End. There, she quickly dialed in her knowledge of the classics (before she was even legally allowed to drink them) and learned how important proper proportions are to cocktail making. “I had to be masterful at making someone’s Manhattan just the way they liked it. There is a strictness to an Italian who wants their drinks done right.” Once she mastered the classics, Bri combined her appreciation of the natural world with cocktails to express the flavors of flowers and the fields in the glass, always lead by a spirit of play. “The creativity is in how to make it all work, it’s all about letting the land and the weather tell you what you’re working with, rather than the other way around,” Bri explains. “The land tells you what’s in season, not the calendar.”
Amor fati!
Tea for Two
by Bri Betts
To make this cocktail, you’ll need highball glasses for you and a friend, a cocktail shaker, and a strainer.
“Thinking about end of summer, I think iced tea, but chai spices make me think of fall.” Handshake Digestif Bitters are made locally in Portland, Maine, but in the spirit of founder Shahin Khojastehzad’s Persian heritage. Bri took inspiration from the Iranian tea blend used in the bitters to create a season-blending tea cocktail. The lemon cuts the bitterness of Handshake, while chai spice from our friends at Smith Teamaker compliments its complex aromatics. Finally, fresh mint brightens everything up, making the cocktail extremely drinkable through shoulder season and beyond.
Please note, it’s important to shake whole lemon wedges, not just add juice. The oils in the skin add an important freshness that juice alone cannot, and keeps the sweetness from taking over.
Makes 2 cocktails
Ingredients
4oz. Smith Teamaker chai tea
3 tablespoons sugar, or to your taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges
mint, bottom leaves removed for muddling. Reserve sprigs for garnish
3 oz. Handshake Digestif Bitters
plenty of ice
Method
make a hot cup of chai tea
stir in sugar and allow to cool
clap mint leaves to release their aroma and add to cocktail shaker
squeeze 3-4 lemon wedges into shaker and drop in
add 3oz. Handshake
add 4oz. sweetened chai tea
shake vigorously and strain cocktail into glasses
clap mint sprigs against the back of your hand and garnish each glass
Lapo’s Iced Chai Amaro
looking for a zero-proof cocktail to transition without the spirit? This iced chai cocktail from The Zero Proof is another delicious way to sip into the fall season.
To make this cocktail, you’ll need highball glasses for you and a friend, a cocktail shaker, and a strainer.
Ingredients
2 oz Lapo’s Amaro
2 oz strong-brewed Smith Teamaker chai, chilled
½ oz fresh lemon juice
¼ oz honey syrup
1–2 oz soda water
orange peel or cinnamon stick, for garnish
Method
Shake the Amaro, chai, lemon, and honey syrup with ice
Strain over fresh ice in a rocks or highball glass
Finish with soda and garnish each glass
Enjoy!
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