A simple recipe for an iced berry tea cooler, using raspberry leaf tea. A tasty way to drink more water.
Drink more water.
The simplest health tip, yet for me personally the hardest one to adhere to. Eat more vegetables = easy, eat oily fish a few times a week = easy, get to bed earlier = easy. Why is drinking water so hard, even for someone who likes water? Especially when living in the UK we are damned lucky to be have access to fresh, clean water at the turn of a tap. I’ve tried the jug of water on my desk tip, that sometimes works. But, perhaps I need to find a way to like it even more that doesn’t involve slipping back to my very old habit of litres of sugar free squash?
And I think I have.
I’ve really been enjoying iced tea recently. This recipe is really versatile, simple, and works with most flavoured teas. Though personally I think it look particularly beautiful with a tea that dyes the water a hint of pink. Today I’m using raspberry leaf. Hibiscus would be another good choice.
Since raspberry pairs well with mint, and orange I assumed that the leaf would too. The blend of tea I bought actually contains hibiscus, nettle and rosehip too. It doesn’t have an overwhelming strong flavour when brewed like this, but does make water more interesting! Plus when you’ve drunk your glass of liquid you get to eat the raspberries too, the perfect encouragement to get drinking!
- 3 teabags of raspberry leaf tea of other berry/red tea
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 100g raspberries
- handful mint
- ice cubes to serve
- honey (optional, I don’t need it)
- Add 3 teabags of tea to 250mls of boiled water, stir and leave brew for 30 minutes. Remove tea bags and transfer to fridge to cool.
- When fully cooled add the infusion to a jug along with the oranges, raspberries and mint. Leave for at least 10 minutes (it tastes better with a longer fruit infusion!) to infuse before adding ice cubes to serve.
- If you need it sweeter add a touch of honey. I personally don’t think it needs it
I am one of the people who should defo drink more water – so iced tea is the easiest way to do this. Your version looks lush.
Glad its not just me, down in one hey? Thanks Bintu
I can’t stand coffee or tea, but at Food Blogger Connect last year I was won over by a fruity iced tea. I thought I’d hate it but it’s lovely. I’m paying attention to how you actually make it now and yes I am dreadful too. Drink water during the day but not nearly enough.
No coffee or tea? Wow. Fruity iced tea is rather lovely though, glad you’ve seen the light. Thanks Jac and good luck with your water consumption!
This looks so lovely and really makes drinking water so special! I think I drink a lot of water, just by keeping a glass next to the sink in the kitchen, but it’s always good to have a reminder. I’d definitely drink even more if it was as lovely as your cooler.
Thanks Kate. I could have water strapped to my hip and I’d still forget to drink it, but love your tip of having one by the sink.
I find drinking enough water easy, but I used to find getting to bed early the hard one. But baby has fixed that now. Saying that, I am always on the lookout for new ways to make water exciting and I love making iced tea.
Ha, love how we all find different parts of being in tip top health challenging or easy. Love to hear your iced tea recipes too.
Lady Grey tea makes wonderful iced tea, the trick is to use extra teabags (I use 8 to 5L of water) and only let it brew about 3 minutes. That gives you maximum flavour, minimum tannin (which sweetened ice tea masks). Even nicer with sliced orange in it!
I’m not a fan of black tea, though lady grey was one of the few I did like. Must be the citrussy taste, will have to give this a try thanks!
I drink very little coffee these days, and prefer cold brewed tea. So I toss 4 or five tea bags into a quart pitcher and leave it to sit on the counter overnight. No bumbling around with hot water first thing in the morning! The Brita pitcher lives on a little shelf directly above the water faucet, and a nice glass sits right next to it. Easy to remember to drink water. Long ago, a nurse practitioner taught me a sneaky trick. Every time you go to the bathroom, drink a glass of water after you’ve washed your hands.
Funny what teas we like. Green tea gives me a tummy ache, black teas are such a good foil for spices in the winter!
That sounds like a great idea. No need to boil the kettle. Great tips re drinking water too, I really need to get better at it!