home-made ice tea with ginger, mint and lemon
In summer I love to drink buckets of ice tea to break the monotony of all the water. I also attempt to avoid sugar in beverages, so by making my own ice tea, I control this. It also makes it so affordable and so very, very tasty.
This combination of flavours is one which friend of mine Laurence introduced me to, and it works out perfectly.
All you do is brew a strong jug of tea and then keep this in the fridge after its cooled. You then pour it over a glass filled with ice to dilute it and cool it down even further.
Oh and for the benefit of those in countries outside of South Africa who may not be aware of our wonderful Rooibos / Redbush tea, its a tea that has its origin in South Africa, and in the Western Cape to be precise (that’s where I live). Its packed with antioxidants and is 100% caffeine free, so its a herbal tea that can be consumed in a similar way to black tea.
I love to make iced tea using Rooibos / Redbush tea rather than black tea which I find quite bitter, but you can use whatever tea you prefer. I sometimes blend in about 25% green tea with the Rooibos, which then just ratchets up the health properties a notch, and I have totally acquired the taste for it.
To make a liter of strong iced tea.
- 4 Rooibos tea bags / liter of water
- about 5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely sliced
- peel from 1 lemon
- small handful of mint leaves
- 2 T of honey (or sweetener of your choice, I also like to use artificial sweetener)
- juice of one lemon
- extra slices of lemon and mint to serve (optional)
Fill a heat proof jug with boiling water and add the tea bags. While it is hot, add all the ingredients except the lemon juice and hte honey, and allow it to infuse. I normally leave it in until the water is luke warm and then I remove the tea bags. Stir through the honey and add the lemon juice. Store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
If you leave the mint, lemon rind and ginger in the tea, the flavour will strengthen. If you want to keep it quite mild, strain it out when you remove the tea bags. Either way works well. You can also muddle the aromatics slightly in the tea, bruising the ginger, mint and lemon, to further release their delicious oils.
Nothing quite beats a refreshing glass of icy cold iced tea in summer.
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Writing from California on a rainy morning and I can say the iced tea with ginger and mint is so refreshing! A fantastic afternoon treat!
This looks delicious and I do actually have some Redbush tea in my pantry so could try this with it.
Your photos are more and more WOW by the day …
I am trying this right now. Love your blog and recipe book. We have tried a few recipes from the book. Crunchy noodle salad and banana bread are some of my favourites.
Hi Laurette, thank you, I’m glad you are enjoying 🙂
Thanks Pieter, I do try 🙂
HI Deb in California, I think iced tea is awesome all year round. have a fabulous day.
Wonderful Sam! I did a rooibos punch last week and you can pretty much throw any decent combination of flavours in for a delicious, healthy drink. I love your lemon, honey and ginger combo and I imagine if you drink that combo while it’s hot, you will knock any head cold for a 6 😉 xx
Hi Tami, yes I think to drink it hot in winter and cold in summer for pure refreshment.:-)
Hi Sam, i drink lots of iced tea during summer and i agree homemade is much better choice, OH MY your pictures are amazing–makes me want to pick a glass of the pc screen
Thanks Usha, I’ve just got back from Pilates and sipping a tall glass now.
Wow! This is so refreshing! I love this!
Thanks Daisy, I’m drinking it all the time now.
Ihave been looking for a good ice tea recipe and yours seems great Ihave not tried it yet due to weather in the uk
it was interesting to read from one of your follower that you can drink it hot
thank you for the info
michael uk
Its a pleasure Michael and enjoy.
I stopped drinking alcohol and i think i have found the perfect subsitute not made it yet but it sounds great
Thank you
Michael73
This recipe seems to be the one for me! I cannot wait to try this recipe on the family. Jenny South Africa.
Amazing! I made it wid Green Tea..Though its a metabolic booster cn u plzz tell d calorie content if any, using artificial sweetener n also if using honey?
Hi Nikita – Im sorry I dont have hte calorie count for this. I use either artificial sweetner or honey.
Thank you for this yummy recipe, I’ve especially subscribed to your blog, as I live in Botswana, but LOVE The Cape
:-)!
It also means that i’m usually able to get the same ingredients as you guys, which is often a struggle for many other sites & their recipes 🙁
fyi re: the q about calories…Green Tea w mint and honey in a 6 oz glass or mug will have approx 35 calories and 10 – 12 grams of carbs (from the honey)… so very low calorie and carb count; I like to remind myself that some carbs are good in moderation – honey is definately in the super foods group, and the sweetness does not raise blood sugar levels, so is a better choice for diabetics.
I have been making home made lemonade with mint leaves and maple syrup which is awesome; Ive made converts of my co workers to fresh drinks rather than soft drinks – big improvement 🙂 Thanks
Thanks for the feedback Jo, homemande ice tea is the way forward.
Can you use lime instead of lemon?
Definitley
I think your recipes are really great. However, please cant you put the whole recipe in one block that we can print if we so require. The way you have it now is not conducive to storing .
Thanks, Tony and many of my recipes are stored in recipe cards. I, unfortunately, have had a lot of technical errors using these plugins on my website so Until I get it sorted, they will be like this. Also, this recipe is from 2012 so back then I wasn’t using recipe cards and I do not have the capacity to go back and re edit all my past posts. I work on my own. Sorry.