Summer is the time to drink refreshing drinks and stay out in the sun all day long. What better way to cool off from the summer heat than with a sip of blueberry rooibos iced tea? This recipe is super simple and actually uses the leftover blueberry compote from my baked blueberry french toast recipe. If you don’t have any leftover compote, do not fret. You can easily make the compote to add to the iced tea.
What is even better is that blueberries are in season. This means this recipe is easy and cheap to make. A pint of blueberries are on sale for like $2.50 at my local supermarket – and it’s around the same price at the farmers market. If you are the type to support local businesses (which you should), go to the farmers market to get yourself some fresh blueberries for this recipe.
ABOUT THE RECIPE
Iced tea is the perfect summer drink. However, the combination of blueberry and rooibos tea imparts a tart and floral flavour to the iced tea. Don’t freak out about it being floral. It’s not to say that the drink is going to taste like flowers.
Rooibos or redbush tea is a herbal and caffeine free tea that has been brewed for generations in South Africa. The tea imparts a light fruity and nutty flavour. Now I am going to let you in on a little secret. I do not like tea. I am more of a coffee person. In all honesty, I think that tea tastes like lightly flavoured water. With that being said, I do think the addition of tea into drinks (like iced tea) is super duper tasty. While I do not like the taste of rooibos on its own, I think it tastes delicious when combined with blueberries. Furthermore, It doesn’t hurt that the rooibos tea I have smells divine. If you want to use the same tea that I use, I got this one called rooibos provenance from Oolong tea house located in Calgary. It has elderberries and lavender in it!
The blueberry compote is a mixture of blueberries, lemon, and maple syrup. Super simple and easy to make. And finally, I add some lemonade and soda water to top off the blueberry rooibos iced tea.
To make this a cocktail go ahead and add an ounce or two of bourbon – trust me it tastes fantastic 😉
BLUEBERRY ROOIBOS ICED TEA
Blueberry Rooibos Iced Tea
Iced tea is the perfect drink for summer. Blueberry Rooibos Iced Tea combines the tartness of blueberries, the nutty floral flavour of rooibos and the addition of lemonade & mint to make this a great addition to summer. Add an ounce of bourbon to make this a summery cocktail!
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups water
- 4 tsp rooibos tea leaves
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 mint leaves
- 1/2 cup soda water
- 1/2 cup lemonade
Instructions
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For the compote, combine all the ingredients into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the berries begin to release their juices and soften up. Set aside.
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Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add the rooibos leaves, sugar and mint. Turn off the heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea into a jug.
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Add the compote, soda water and lemonade to the jug and stir. Taste for sugar. If you feel like you need to add more then go ahead. Keep in the fridge till it is completely cool.
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Serve over ice and a few blueberries.
