Cool Ideas for Warm Days

This article first appeared in the May-June 2020 issue of The Tea Life Style newsletter.

I am of the persuasion that a morning cup of hot tea is a daily necessity, regardless of season. Strangely though, I have found that many people who enjoy hot tea put their teacups away when warm weather arrives. While some switch to iced tea, many decide to skip tea altogether. I think that with a little creativi-tea, tea and tisanes can be enjoyed in some form all year-round.

Many people prefer strong black or green tea, unflavored and unsweetened, for iced tea. Teas and tisanes that contain citrus, berries, peach or mint are also popular choices. Their flavors are light, bright, sweet, and refreshing. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, how about coconut, pineapple, mango, pomegranate, boysenberry, melon or kiwi?

If cocktails are your thing, did you know there are many cocktail-inspired teas on the market? They are intended to either infuse vodka or other spirits, or to be steeped and then mixed with spirits, but even a tea-totaler (sorry about the awful tea puns!) can enjoy theses “mocktails” as iced tea or as an iced tea slush.

My children, when they were small, loved to eat freezer pops in the summertime. I did not love to buy them, I did not love what was in them, and I especially did not love the plastic wrappers that I found all over the house. I found a great solution-- teaching them to make their own. I would steep their favorite herb & fruit tisanes and add a moderate amount of sugar--there’s no reason you couldn’t add honey, stevia, agave, molasses or leave out the sweetener entirely though! Once the tisane had cooled, I let the kids pour into the molds, insert the sticks and put them into the freezer. If the reusable sticks didn’t find their way back to the kitchen, they couldn’t make more. They are old enough now that I don’t even have to do the steeping for them.

Here are some Tea-sicle tips to get you started:

• Prepare the tea or tisane as you would for iced tea. I prefer to make it about twice as strong as I would if making a cup of hot tea.

  
  

• Add sweeteners, if desired, while the tea is still hot.

  
  

• Allow tea to cool to room temperature before pouring into molds.

  
  

• Feel free to mix & match your favorite fruits, flowers and tea types!

Mango Black Tea-cicles

• Steeped black tea (your favorite iced tea blend)

  
  

• Frozen mango chunks (or other frozen fruit)

  
  

• Optional: half & half or almond milk

Place 3-4 mango chunks in each mold, then add a splash of half & half or milk. Fill the mold the rest of the way with the cooled tea, leaving about ¼-1/2 inch at the top to allow for expansion. Insert sticks and place in freezer for several hours or overnight.

Green Tea & Flowers Tea-cicles

• Steeped green tea (Sencha is a good choice)

  
  

• Fresh-picked lilacs, violets, violas, rose petals or other edible blossoms free from pesticides

  
  

Sprinkle a few blossoms into the popsicle molds- a little goes a long way. Fill with cooled green tea and freeze for several hours or overnight.

Strawberry Tisane-cicles

• Steeped Herb & Fruit Tisane (blends containing hibiscus have lots of visual appeal)

  
  

• Frozen sliced strawberries

Place 3-4 frozen strawberry slices into the popsicle molds. Fill with cooled tisane and freeze for several hours or overnight.

NOTE: Many herb & fruit tisanes are acidic enough to curdle milk, so test before adding half & half or almond milk.