Your curiosity has brought you here, or curiosi-tea rather.
Welcome to the Craft Tea Brew Co.
A remarkable place where old world meets new, art becomes innovation, creation is celebrated, and nothing is off limits. We invite you on a journey with roots as old as time itself. The centre of it, a familiar plant originating in China with medicinal properties and rich cultural ties. A wonderfully complex yet perfectly simple plant that when plucked, dried, and steeped creates the second most popular drink consumed on Earth, next to water. That plant is tea. And we are on a mission to get you talking about it.
From imperialistic China, to the height of hustle and bustle of the Belfast shipyard, (industrial revolution/Victorian era) tea has made its way into our daily routine. Black tea in particular has positioned itself into the very heart and soul of Northern Ireland in the last 200 years or so. Enjoyed with or without milk, even sweetened with sugar or honey, tea has been passed down as customary practice from generation to generation. But we aren’t here to talk about your granny’s tea preferences. We are here to show you all of the amazing things that tea can become. Some of which have never been explored before.
Why stop there? Plants really are a wonderful thing, you see. When you take tea and infuse other plants known as botanicals into the mix, it becomes something even more extraordinary. Flavour profiles change, layers of complexity become apparent, antioxidant properties are amplified, and other health benefits come together to create an all natural functional tonic drink. There are endless possibilities and we like the sound of that.
We have a Thirst for Life. Constantly on a journey towards health and happiness. An adventure, call it a quest, if you will, where innovation and curiosity are the flames which spark our desire to push the limits to what a humble little plant like tea can be. We avoid the well-trodden paths and venture out to form our own. Relishing every step of the way, because it’s all about enjoying the process of exploration almost as much as the moment of discovery itself. Grab your shoes and join us.
What is Kombucha?
We’re glad you asked. Put simply, kombucha is a fermented tea drink which has been around for thousands of years, originating in Eastern holistic practices. Water, tea, sugar, and The Mother culture make up our award winning kombucha and the last ingredient which cannot be overlooked is time. Like all good things worth experiencing, kombucha takes time to ferment which not only allows for our yeast & bacteria friends to eat up most of the sugar, but also makes for an authentically robust and sophisticated end product which we are quite proud to be brewing, if we’re honest.
Because of the simplicity of what ingredients go into our kombucha, care is taken to source the very best high-quality ingredients with no additives, and no junk. We will never pasteurise any of our kombuchas which is why they must be stored in a refrigerator and kept below 4 degrees Celsius.
Kombucha is a very versatile drink which can be enjoyed as a replacement for alcohol or it can be used to maintain optimal gut health as it is rich in antioxidants, probiotics, and wonderful acetic acids which are readily absorbed by the body. With less than 3g of sugar per 100ml, it makes a good addition to a healthy lifestyle or for those who might be health-curious. While we just love when a batch of perfectly aged brews come out of the fermentory, it must pass a series of tests before it arrives in your hands, the most important being the taste-test by Peter, the certified tea-geek himself!
Sparkling Tea
We designed our range of sparkling tea infusions with one word in mind, functional. How can we make a healthy, completely natural, line of drinks brewed with a purpose in mind? By using real plants with their own inherent health benefits and properties. Tea itself, being the original functional drink, paired with the goodness of other herbal ingredients. Each infusion is carefully considered with the intention of giving you the tools to accomplish the task at hand and achieve your goals, whatever they may be. Not only do we strive to continuously discover new functional blends, but we also want to create beneficial, healthy drinks which can fit conveniently into your life. Tea brewed with the power of plants for a purpose.
Shrub Sodas
A shrub soda is a ready to drink version of our shrub syrups. A concentrated dose of traditionally brewed shrub syrups, mixed with water and carbonated. Shrub sodas are low in sugar and infused with tea, botanicals, and fruit. We brew unique and inspiring flavour combinations intended to be enjoyed on their own as a clean soda alternative or used to jazz up a cocktail.
Tea Tinctures and Bitters
What are bitters? The term bitters refers to an infusion of botanicals including herbs, fruits, and spices traditionally steeped in a type of alcohol. The use of bitters dates back to ancient Egyptians, who used herbal infusions in wine as medicinal practice. Bitters were further explored during the Middle Ages, when the availability of distilled alcohol coincided with a renaissance which made possible more-concentrated herbal bitters and tonic preparations.
Most bitters created during those times were intended to be a solution for digestive and stomach remedies with the use of natural ingredients. Today, however many mainstream bitters blends have strayed away from the use of all-natural ingredients and traditional processes. That’s where we step in. Each small batch of bitters is made in our brewery where we hand craft these extractions with traditional techniques. We view it as another way to explore and capture more of the unique properties of tea.
Today, bitters are popular in the world of cocktails as a unique, flavour enhancing ingredient. The best mixologists and bartenders in the world appreciate the layers and complexity uniquely provided by craft bitters. We agree with the saying, ‘good bartenders use bitters, as chefs use seasoning.
’Tinctures and bitters are essentially the same, with tinctures being a single botanical extraction versus a blend of different botanicals in bitters.
We are constantly working with professionals in the industry to develop signature drinks using our craft bitters and tinctures. Be sure to follow us on social media for our latest tea cocktail and mocktail recipes.
Loose Leaf Teas
At The Craft Tea Brew Co brewery we brew hundreds of kilos of tea per year and thought that our customers would like to experience our loose leaf teas at home. We have developed and sourced a range of high quality teas available for you to try.
Shrub Syrups
What is a shrub? Shrubs have been around for thousands of years as a drink which is traditionally made using equal parts vinegar, fruit, sugar, and infused with spices and herbs. They combine alchemy and fermentation, making them the perfect complement to our expertise. Originally used for preservation, we now use them for their unique complexity of flavour. They are the perfect balance of sweet and sour, acidity and aroma.
We use our green tea kombucha vinegar, brewed in-house, to create an ideal base which draws out fruit juices, essences, and an abundance of flavour, and add sugar for sweetness.
Today, mixologists and bartenders appreciate shrubs as a sophisticated way to amplify their cocktails due to their round complexity and unique fusion of flavours. As the craft cocktail world experiments with cleaner ingredients and moves away from unnatural additives, shrubs easily fit into a better choice for both cocktails and mocktails. They make an eye-catching statement piece to your home bar and we think that when it comes to creating our shrubs, the more uncommon, the better.