BEHIND THE CRAFT
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A Cordial Affair

A cordial was once rather different to how we know it today. It was a medicine with an alcoholic base, made in Italian apothecaries in the 15th and 16th centuries, containing herbs and spices and other beneficial ingredients.

These cordials arrived in Britain in the 15th century and were taken to invigorate and revitalise the body, particularly the heart ('cor' being the latin word for heart)

By the 18th century, they were drunk rather more recreationally and over time became known as liqueurs.

The officers of the East India Company themselves brought home stories of exotic drinks. One such recipe was Paanch, meaning ‘five’ in Hindi, comprising five simple ingredients: water, sugar, fruit, tea and alcohol. It became what we now know as punch.

FGSP11103

Orange Blossom Cordial 25cl

£12.00
With the sweet zesty aroma of the orange blossom flower, our Orange Blossom cordial is cooling and refreshing at any time of the day. Enjoy as an iced drink or to flavour a robust Assam tea.

The East India Company - Lifestyle

Food and Beverages

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£12.00
SPECIFICATION DELIVERY & RETURNS
Product Detail Summer Cocktails Ingredients & Allergens
We all know the importance of hydration - but plain old tap water can be a little boring. Just a hint of our Orange Blossom Cordial adds a subtle orange touch of excitement to your water.

We also use it as a critical ingredient in a variety of iced teas, cocktails and spritzers - see our recipe for a summer cocktail and below our short story about how Iced Tea was became popular in America.

It also lends a helping hand to fruit salads, and makes an interesting alternate to Maple Syrup on a pancake or poured over ice cream.
Orange trees usually blossom in early Spring. The orange blossoms are small and fragrant white flowers that cover the whole tree and delightfully perfume the surrounding air.

Orange Blossom oil is not surprisingly an expensive essential oil, being extracted from the early morning picked flowers by steam distillation. It has a floral, sweet scent, both calming and invigorating and it’s more complex and nuanced than the oil that is extracted from the skin of the orange fruit itself.

The blossom actually precedes the fruit - when the flowers drop, the fruit develops in its place.
EIC Recipe Book - Staunton Earl Grey Black Tea with Orange Blossom Cordial

Serves 4

Place 8 heaped teaspoons of Staunton Earl Grey Tea into a saucepan with 1 litre of fresh just-boiled water and infuse for about 4 or 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a heatproof bowl, leave to cool.

Tip into a jug and add a handful of ice, along with 6-8 tablespoons of Orange Blossom Cordial.

Stir well, taste and adjust accordingly.

For an elegant finish, add a thin slice or orange and lemon to each glass.

Ingredients

Cane Sugar, Water, Flavour(Orange Blossom 0.7%), Infusion (Water, Orange Blossom 0.1%)), Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid.


Allergens

Made in factory that handles nuts, sesame, mustards, gluten, milk, eggs, soya and sulphites.
May contain traces of these allergens.

Nutrition

Typical values 100g – Energy 1549kj/370kcal | Fat 0g, of which saturates 0g | Carbohydrate 93g, of which sugars 92g | Protein 0g | Salt 0.01g


Storage

Store in a cool place after opening.

Suitable for vegetarians.

Stories

The Story of Iced Tea

The majority of iced tea today is a poor relative of the original, which dates back to the 19th century, being akin to sugary, flavoured water.

The oldest iced tea recipes were made with green tea and were known as 'punches' such as Regent’s punch, named after George IV or the Prince Regent 1762-1830. It was very aristocratic and highly alcoholic.

The punch became known in America, but was a novelty until the 1904 World Fair in St Louis [home also to the Olympic Games in the same year]. The very hot crowds were served with very hot Indian tea. It was the India Tea Commissioner, Richard Blenchynden and his team, who realised something cooler was in order. They filled some large bottles with the hot tea and let it flow through some iced lead [!] pipes. The resulting 'iced' tea, was a huge success, later replicated by Blenchynden for shoppers at Bloomingdales in New York. The huge US iced tea industry was born and the drink is now popular all around the world.
It’s so easy to make your own great iced tea, either with green tea or black - Ceylon tea works especially well as it remains very clear as it cools. It can be made as a cold-brew with a bit of planning [add tea to cold water and brew for a day] or made hot and iced water added. Honey or a natural cordial to sweeten a little or a lot to taste, some lemons and limes and some alcohol if you must. The opportunities are endless - different herbal infusions also make a great base.

We have a few recipes to share in our EIC Recipe Book; we would love to hear yours too.

Our spirit delivers no ordinary products

  • FAQ

    I love flavoured iced teas, do you have any recipes that I can try?
    Yes, we have lots of iced tea recipes, cocktail and ‘mocktail’ recipes too. Click here to see our EIC recipes. Check out our cordials page, you can fine some of the recipes there too.

    I enjoy a classic iced tea with lemon and lime using a black tea base. Which tea would you recommend?
    Good question: some teas can go cloudy - still tasting good - but if you want a clean and clear traditional iced tea, we recommend a black tea from Sri Lanka, such as our Sir Anthony Oliphant's Ceylon Loose Black Tea Caddy 125g. For Peach Iced Tea fans, we suggest trying our Peach Infused Black Tea.

  • Delivery & Returns

    UK Standard Delivery: £3.95
    UK Next Day Delivery (mainland UK only): £9.95 (Order before 12pm)
    International Delivery is available, please see our delivery page for details. For more information and Terms & Conditions, please see our Delivery page.

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