BLACKBERRY ICED TEA
Blackberry Iced Tea is a fruity, refreshing, cooling and delicious cold beverage to enjoy during the summers. What I like about this homemade blackberry iced tea is that it is made from fresh blackberries. A versatile recipe, make a big batch of the blackberry sauce or syrup and leave it in the fridge. It stays good for at least a week or two. And the best part is control the amount of sugar you use. Or go for natural sweeteners. I like to add either honey or maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 2 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 cup normal tap water
- 4 cup hot water
- 3 tea bags black or green
- 10-12 mint leaves
- 4-6 tbsp sugar
- pinch salt
- 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest grated lemon rind
- plenty ice cubes
Instructions
PREPARE THE TEA
- Add mint leaves, lemon zest, salt and tea bags to the hot water. Cover and let the mixture infused for 5-10 minutes.
- Strain the mixture to remove the mint leaves and tea bags.
- Add the black tea into a big jug/pitcher.
- Refrigerate till required.
- Add blackberries and sugar in a pan. Add 1 cup water.
- Cook the mixture over low to medium heat till the berries become soft and can be mashed easily.
- Pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve.
- Press the mixture to the sieve to allow the syrup to pass through.
- Refrigerate the syrup till required.
- I leave a bit of the pressed blackberries to add to the tea. The rest you discard as it will be full of seeds.
PREPARE THE BLACKBERRY ICED TEA
- Remove the cold tea mint mixture from the fridge.
- Add the blackberry syrup.
- Add lemon juice. Mix well.
- Add some ice cubes in the glasses and pour the blackberry iced tea over it.
- Serve with some fresh lemon slices and mint leaves.
Notes
- Use berries of your choice.
- Can use frozen berries for this recipe.
- Use any tea of your choice, black or green.
- Use honey, maple syrup or a sweetener of your choice. If that is the case, cook the berries without the sugar.
- The syrup with sugar stays fresh in the fridge for a week.