Gifts for Tea Lovers: Chai, Ginger, Cardamom and Peppermint Spice Drops

In short: A great gift for a tea lover is something that adds flavour to the tea they already love. The Tea Spices Collection holds four award winning Spice Drops, Cardamom, Chai Spices, Ginger and Peppermint, for proper chai, ginger tea and peppermint tea with no tea bags. Each 5ml bottle holds around 150 drops and keeps for up to three years.

Tea lovers tend to have a cupboard full of blends and a firm view on how their cup should be made. The Tea Spices Collection lets them add flavour to the tea they already love, from a proper chai to a ginger or peppermint tea with no tea bag at all.

What is in the Tea Spices Collection?

• Cardamom Spice Drops, 5ml (Great Taste 2015, two stars)
• Chai Spices Spice Drops, 5ml (Great Taste 2016, two stars)
• Ginger Spice Drops, 5ml
• Peppermint Spice Drops, 5ml (Great Taste 2016, one star)

How do you use Spice Drops in tea?

Put one or two drops in the cup or pot, pour the tea or hot water on top and stir. For a bagless ginger or peppermint tea, simply add the drops to hot water. Taste and add another drop if you like it stronger. Every bottle comes with its own dropper.

How much should you use?

These ratios come from our product pages. Start with them, taste, then add more if you like.

What can you make with it?

• A chai latte: Chai Spices with black tea and warm milk.
• Ginger in hot water with a slice of lemon.
• Peppermint in hot water for a bagless mint tea.
• Cardamom in a pot of black tea, the way it is often drunk in India.
• Cardamom in hot chocolate for a change from tea.

Why are Spice Drops a good gift for a tea lover?

Each 5ml bottle holds around 150 drops and keeps for up to three years when stored in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight, so the set will not be finished or stale within a few weeks. Spice Drops are made by Holy Lama in Kerala, India, where more than 80% of our workforce is women, and the range won best new ingredient at the World Food Innovation Awards 2015.

Spice Drops contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and are oxalate free. They are vegan, gluten free and alcohol free, and contain a plant derived emulsifier, polysorbate 80, which helps them mix into food and drink.

How are Spice Drops made?

Spice Drops are made at our own factory in Kerala, India, by a family business that dates back to 1946. The spices are crushed in a hammer mill or under a roller without heat, then extracted, and the solvent is removed under vacuum. For some flavours the distilled oil of the same spice is added back. Leafy herbs such as Mint are distilled essential oil only. The result is real spice flavour: the natural compounds that give each spice its taste and aroma are still there, such as piperine, which gives black pepper its heat.

How can you make it a bigger gift?

• Pair it with our Barista Flavour Collection for someone who drinks both tea and coffee.
• Add our handmade gift wrap, a fabric scarf they can keep, for £2.50.
• See every set in our Spice Drops gift collections, or read our guide to Spice Drops gift sets for every food lover.

Ordering for Christmas? Check our Delivery page for the last order dates.

Shop the Tea Spices Collection.