Crossword Genius

Declare a saintly brew of tea! (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

state

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'declare' is the definition.
(I know that declare is a more specific form of the action state)

'a saintly brew of tea' is the wordplay.
'a saintly brew' becomes 'st' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'of' indicates an anagram (the answer comes from or 'of' the letters).
'tea' is an anagram of 'ate'.
'st'+'ate'='STATE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for state that I've seen before include "Say; country" , "Claim" , "Speak" , "Condition of country." , "Government; say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.