You may not know this, but August is National Coffee Month. Our world revolves around coffee and we’re not alone. Whether it’s brewed in a French press, autodrip machine, or espresso maker, your favorite brew is undeniably a centerpiece of life. Coffee brings people together, and for National Coffee Month, we wanted to bring you some recipes to make your get-togethers extra-special!

In celebration, we took it to the next level by freezing, blending, shaking, and mixing our hearts out to bring you these tasty warm weather treats. Here are our favorite concoctions, tested on our guinea pigs (aka employees) for your enjoyment.

For Coffee Buffs:

No-Churn Coffee Fudge Ice Cream

Nothing says summer quite like ice cream, and this no-churn treat is like bringing your local creamery home.

Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

This treat fuses a strong blast of coffee, creamy sweetened condensed milk, and a velvety vanilla finish.

Dark Moon Cocktail

A coffee cocktail with a bold, heavy body. Brew a big batch and make any occasion more festive!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Coffee is the secret ingredient in this luscious, indulgent treat.

Chocolate Lovers Coffee Shake

A fudgy, creamy dessert (or meal!) – perfect for cheat day

Affogato

This simple 2-ingredient summer treat keeps your taste buds guessing with blasts of creamy, cold gelato and steamy espresso.

For Tea Enthusiasts:

Iced Chai Bubble Tea

We love a little texture in our tea! The tapioca pearls make this spicy, sweet treat one of a kind.

Watermelon Mimosa Green Tea Popsicles

The refreshment of iced green tea meets sweet, juicy watermelon flavor. A sweet, tart way to cool down in the heat!

Jasmine Honey Tea Granita

A simple, flowery homemade dessert with a sweet, refreshing flavor

Tea Sangria

Brew up a tangy, fruity glass of this fresh, warm weather cocktail.

Rum and Lemon Ginger Green Tea

A refreshing, bubbly twist on the traditional Dark and Stormy

Remember last New Year’s Eve when you nodded off on the couch at 10 o’clock, one hand in a bag of chips? This recipe is dedicated to you. Hopefully you resolved to party. Chilling the espresso is an important step in this recipe (nobody likes a watery drink) and while the drink is sweet enough without it, simple syrup adds a nice froth on top.

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz coffee liqueur, homemade or store bought
1/4 oz elderflower liqueur
2 shots espresso, chilled
Generous splash simple syrup

Instructions
Add all ingredients to a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake it hard for a good 10 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

Adapted from Food & Wine.

Tea parties a are a little creepy, don’t you think? Halloween is a great occasion to host one, Mad Hatter style. Even without the tea party, this is the perfect cocktail to creep your guests out in a big way. We started with the basic recipe for a hibiscus tea cocktail called The Procession and upped the goulish factor a little with some hibiscus syrup and dry ice.

Ingredients (for the drink)
½ oz silver tequila
¾ oz crème de cacao (white)
½ oz ruby port
¾ oz hibiscus tea, chilled (make 1 cup more for the syrup, if using, below)
2 dashes of orange bitters

For the hibiscus syrup:
Bring 1 cup of brewed and strained hibiscus tea to a boil (2 teaspoons brewed for 5 minutes made a nice strong cup). While the tea is boiling, add a cup of sugar and stir constantly for about two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Shake the cocktail ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a small chunk of dry ice (check out these instructions on handling dry ice) to the glass, and drizzle a little hibiscus “blood” along the rim. Serve immediately. The bubbling lasts for about five minutes.

Created by Daniel Hyatt, The Alembic, San Francisco. Original recipe here.

If you’ve ever added a splash of whiskey to your mug of tea, you know the flavors can pair very nicely. Tea softens whiskey’s bite while whiskey adds warmth and complexity. Inspired by the success of our Earl Grey Goose, we decided to see what a tea  infusion would do to a traditional old-fashioned. We decided to use spicy and robust rye as the base for our Spiced Chai Black Tea infusion. With a strong flavor of its own, the tea needed to steep for only two hours to infuse well.

Instructions

Add 1 tablespoon of loose leaf chai black tea and 8 ounces of rye whiskey to a sealable jar. Let sit for 2 hours, strain the tea and transfer to a bottle before using.

With more time, the subtle tea flavor will enhance, but the spices become unpleasantly strong. With a straight, unflavored tea, try infusing a few hours longer or overnight to start.

Spicy Old Fashioned Recipe

Add a little (or more if you like) simple syrup to an old-fashioned glass with ice.
Add a dash of bitters.
Add 2 ounces of chai-infused rye whiskey
Stir
Garnish with a twist of orange

Hopefully, this recipe inspires experimentation. Scotch, bourbon, rye, and tea share many characteristics  and can enhance one another, whether enjoyed side by side or blended. Mix and match and let us know what works for you!

Sometimes when you can’t decide between two great things you should just try them together. The possibility of a new great thing is worth the risk that you will ruin them both. It’s a stuffy 89 degrees today and while a tall glass of iced tea sounds perfect, so does a margarita. Tea-ritas it is.

Tea-ritas are a thing, we did not invent them. There are many variations, and we tried a few before finding our favorite. Tea with a strong flavor stands up best to tequila, which is why we used English Breakfast black in our recipe, brewed strong. The result was a little like an Arnold Palmer with a kick, the black tea flavor perfect with the lime juice and Triple Sec.

Directions

Add 1 cup of strong black iced tea (we used Organic English Breakfast) to a cocktail shaker. Pour in 1 shot of silver tequila, 1 oz triple sec, 1 shot of  fresh lime juice, and 1/4 cup simple syrup or agave syrup. Shake it over ice and strain into a glass with a salted rim, if you like that sort of thing. Garnish with lime.