Herbs Iced Teas

• 1/2 oz. dried, scented red or pink unsprayed rose petals
• 4 oz. Oolong or other mild- to medium-strength China tea

Make as for ordinary tea and serve without milk. This mixture of dried rose petals and China tea makes a highly scented and refreshing drink. It looks lovely served unstrained in small glasses so the petals can be seen in the base.

• 1 liter water
• 3 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 lemon juice
• few lemon slices
• 2 handfuls dry elder flowers

Boil them all together for few minutes, strain and add 4 liters of cold water. Serve with ice and lemon slices.

• 3 1/4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons jasmine pearls
• 1 1/4 cups Simple Syrup
• 3 cups fresh tangerine juice, strained (from 8 to 10 tangerines)

Bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add jasmine pearls, and infuse for 2 1/2 minutes. Strain through a small sieve into a pitcher. Discard pearls. Let cool.
Add syrup and tangerine juice to pitcher. Divide tangerine among ice-filled glasses. (Or cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)
Jasmine tea can become too tannic if allowed to steep for too long. A few minutes is sufficient to infuse the fresh tangerine with flavor.

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons rose water
• 1/4 cup Ceylon or Earl Grey black tea leaves
• 4 to 5 green cardamom pods
• Ice

Garnish the tea with fresh mint leaves.
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water and the sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and simmer until clear, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then stir in the rose water and set aside. Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in the tea leaves and cardamom pods. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Stir again, then strain through a fine sieve. In a large pitcher, combine the strained tea with 2 cups cold water. Serve over ice and sweeten with 1 to 2 tablespoons rose water syrup.

• 2-4 sprigs of fresh lavender (leaves)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar (more or less, as desired)
• 2 tablespoon strong black tea or 4 tea bags
• 1 quart (1 liter) hot water
• 1 quart (1 liter) ice cubes

In a heat-proof container, brew tea for about 5 minutes. Next, simmer sugar, water, half of the lemon zest and half of the lavender for about 5 minutes in a small saucepan. Allow to cool slightly. Put the ice cubes in a pitcher, and add sugar mixture, tea, lemon juice, and remaining lavender leaves and lemon zest. Add additional water if needed. Put a few slices of lemon into the pitcher for some added flavor. Stir thoroughly then refrigerate until chilled. Pour and serve!
The longer the iced tea sits, the better it tastes. It can be served immediately, but the flavor will not be as strong.

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup honey, or to taste
• 1-tablespoon fennel seeds
• Four orange-pekoe tea- bags
• Three 3-inch strips of lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler plus additional for garnish
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

In a saucepan stir together the water, the honey, and the fennel seeds and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the tea bags and 3 strips of the zest, and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea through a fine sieve set over a heat -proof pitcher let it cool, and add the lemon juice. Chill the tea, covered, for 1 hour, or until it is very cold. Divide the iced tea among tall glasses filled with ice cubes and garnish each glass with some of the additional zest.
Recipe makes about 4 cups Lemon Fennel Iced Tea, serving four.

• 1 bunch (1-1/2 to 2 ounces) fresh lemon balm
• 1 small lemon, thinly sliced
• 4 mint tea bags
• 3 tbsp honey

Reserve 6 sprigs of the lemon balm for garnish. Combine the remaining lemon balm, the lemon slices, and tea bags in a teapot or bowl. Pour in about 2 cups boiling water to cover. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags. Stir the honey into the tea and set aside to cool to room temperature. Strain the tea through a fine-meshed sieve into a large pitcher and discard the solids. Add 4 cups cold water and stir well. Refrigerate the tea until serving time. Pour the chilled tea over ice in glasses. Garnish with the reserved lemon balm

• 8 stalks fresh lemon grass
• 1 quart water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or to taste

Rinse lemon grass stalks; slice into thirds. Crush stalks with side of cleaver or mallet; place in saucepan with the water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Cool, strain and serve over ice.

A sparkling iced tea, flavored with jasmine and brown sugar syrup. A change from the ordinary, with a sweet and floral flavor.

• 4 cups water, boiling
• 3 tbs loose jasmine tea
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups sparkling water

Dissolve sugar in 3/4 cup of water, and boil gently until a syrup has formed. Set aside and let cool. Steep the jasmine tea in the remaining 3 cups of hot water for around 6 minutes. Strain out tea, and let cool slightly. In a pitcher, combine syrup and tea. Stir or whisk until fully blended. Add sparkling water and cool thoroughly. Serve over ice. Can be served with cinnamon sticks, lemon slices or mint sprigs.
Makes 1 quart of iced tea.

• 4 green tea bags
• 4 jasmine tea bags
• 3-6” sprigs of mint
• 1 lemon cut into slices
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 8 cups of water
• 8 cups of ice

In a medium pan add 8 cups of water, tea bags and honey. Boil for 5 minutes and turn off heat. Add mint sprigs to the pan and allow everything to steep for 15 minutes.
Remove tea bags and pour the tea and mint into a gallon sized pitcher filled with ice and lemon slices.

For this refreshing drink, choose stalks of lemon grass that are plump and firm, with no signs of drying or bitterness.

• 12 to 18 2-inch pieces lemon grass (depending on how fresh the stalks are)
• 3 3/4 quarts boiling water (15 cups)
• 12 lemon slices, plus more for garnish (from 2 to 3 medium lemons)
• 5 tablespoons honey, or to taste
• Ice, for serving (optional)

Prepare the lemon grass by removing and discarding the first two tough outer layers. Slice thinly into rings. Put the lemon grass in a heatproof pitcher and cover with the boiling water. Add the lemon slices and cover. Allow to infuse and let cool to room temperature. Strain the tea, discarding the solids. Add the honey to taste. Refrigerate the tea until well chilled.
To serve, pour the tea into glasses and add ice, if desired. Garnish with extra slices of lemon.