When we strap on our aprons and head out on a vintage cooking adventure, we often make some sort of delicious baked good; this year for Valentine’s I thought I’d try something a little bit different. As I was going for a bit of a surf on the web (do people still say that or am I showing my age?), I was determined to find something a little bit out of the ordinary and I eventually stumbled upon an advert from 1947 for three types of valentine’s day tea. The advert is for A&P tea which was a very popular American tea company since 1859 which filed for bankruptcy back in 2015. The ad gives the reader three tea recipes which are specifically designed for Valentine’s and as an avid tea drinker, I’m very excited to test them out.

Unfortunately A&P tea is no longer around which means I couldn’t find any of their specific teas; the advert suggests either their Nectar Tea or Mayfair Tea and I struggled to find out what kind of tea they were and if I could purchase a dupe. For this reason, I will be using a plain old black tea and I won’t be making it very strong; I will be making some good old Barry’s tea. This tea will form the base of all three tea recipes.

Valentine Honey

Place 1 teaspoon of honey or jelly, 1 slice of lemon, whole cloves and cinnamon stick muddler in a tea cup. Add strong tea prepared according to package directions. Serve at once.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to muddle all the ingredients together as the instructions weren’t clear and to be honest i don’t really own a muddler. But I went ahead and gave all my ingredients a bit of a muddle as best I could and added my tea when ready. This tea was absolutely delicious. In winter I normally add lemon and a cinnamon stick to my tea as it’s how I loved it during snowy days in Europe so this brought me right back to those days. It tastes like Christmas in a cup even though it’s supposed to be for valentines day. If you really like a bit of spice with your tea, this is the way to go.

Mint Cup

Prepare tea according to package directions. Add 2 teaspoons mint jelly instead of sugar to each cup. Serve with lemon slice, topped with heart shaped maraschino cherry.

I have to be honest and say, I really don’t like mint. Oddly enough in my family, both my grandmothers hated mint and it made them feel nauseous; I have that same issue. It just makes me feel sick so I opted for fresh mint from the garden instead of buying a jar of mint jelly which would be wasted (I mean the grocery stores are struggling enough to stock shelves, let’s not waste food). The fresh mint is a bit more toned down than the jelly so I didn’t find it overpowering (I think, I don’t know to be honest). This tea was really refreshing on the palette and also super cute to look at with the heart shaped maraschino cherry. If you like mint, go for it!

Hearts and Flowers

Boil 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 2 inch stick cinnamon for 3 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick. Add 1/4 cup each pineapple juice and orange juice, 2 table spoons of lemon juice. Add 3 cups of strong hot tea. Add sliced nougat with heart shaped cherry.

Hearts and Flowers was very sweet so I’d recommend lowering the sugar intake if you don’t like your tea too sweet. The tea tasted more like a cocktail than a cup of tea; it was sweet, fruity with an almond and cinnamon after taste. This is the tea I’d be most curious to serve cold as an ice tea in summer as I can imagine it being very refreshing. Although the method was a little less straight forward than the other two, it was the most surprising in taste.

I was a touch confused by the nougat aspect of the tea as I’m not sure how nougat was served, or eaten in the 40’s and the only nougat I could find were little pieces of it encrusted with almonds. I added the whole thing regardless and really liked the overall almond taste it gave. It also added to the sweetness so I’m tempted so lower the sugar to about a tablespoon or even just a teaspoon as there’s sugar in the juice and cherry.

I was worried that testing out some tea recipes wouldn’t be as interesting as making a dessert or meal but I really enjoyed the peaceful nature of it and a chance to just sit down and sample some tea. I’d love to know which one you’d be the most keen to try yourself and of course if you make one, please let me know how it turned out!

Let’s make our own valentines day tea!
To a cup of black tea add a teaspoon of strawberry jam, a teaspoon of rose petals or buds (tea grade of course), a dash of elderberry cordial and a heart shaped maraschino cherry. Voila! Miss MonMon’s Valentines day tea. Let me know what you think!

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.