Raspberry & lime iced tea

Photographer: Emma
makes 2L

My initial thought was to make a cocktail for this month’s high tea theme but after much deliberation I decided that I would turn my hand instead to iced tea. I had never made iced tea before, nor had I ever given too much thought to it so I did a little bit of reading on the subject and discovered that iced tea is a drink with its roots deep in the American south. I picture colonial houses with lazy wrap-around balconies whose weather beaten planks play host to a collection of wicker chairs upon which sit ladies in wide brimmed hats and long flowing cotton dresses. In the sticky afternoon heat they utter forth conversations in a slow southern-drawl, ice clinking in tall glasses filled with mint-garnished iced tea. Whilst the picture I paint is more likely to be from the scene of a movie than from the reality of everyday life I still like the feeling it conjures forth. Whilst I don’t have any wicker chairs of my own, I do in fact have a wrap-around balcony out to which, in the next sun-drenched afternoon, I will take myself and a tall glass of this iced-tea. I may even sport a cotton dress for the occasion!

 

 

INGREDIENTS


2 1/2 tsp earl grey tea
3 cups water


3 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
500g raspberries, I used frozen (equivalent 1 1/2 cups raspberry juice)
4 limes, juiced


Mint leaves and ice to serve.

METHOD


1. Brew the tea then set aside to cool.
2. Place the sugar and the remaining 3 cups water in a saucepan and set over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3. Place the raspberries into a muslin cloth and squeeze out all the liquid you can. Once you have got out all the juice you can, discard the wee pips.
4. Combine the tea, raspberry juice, sugar syrup, lime juice, mint and ice in a large jug and mix well. Serve in tumblers garnished with mint leaves and extra ice is desired.