Iced Lemon Ginger Manuka Honey Tea Mule

teas.co.uk · 15 min + 30 min chill · Serves 1

You'll need

• 1 Pukka Organic Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey tea bag
• 150ml filtered water at a full rolling boil (100°C)
• 35ml vodka (a clean grain vodka: Belvedere, Reyka, Absolut Elyx)
• 15ml fresh lime juice (about half a small lime)
• 80ml chilled soda water (plain, not tonic; tonic clashes with the lemon)
• A handful of crushed ice, plus extra cubed ice for the shock chill jug
• 1 lime wheel and 1 piece of crystallised ginger, to garnish
• Glassware: a 350ml copper Moscow Mule mug, pre chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes (a thick walled highball is a fine substitute)

Method

1. Pre chill the copper mug in the freezer for ten minutes before you start. The cold metal is half the appeal of a mule, so this matters; if you are using a glass highball, chill that the same way.
2. Bring 150ml filtered water to a full rolling boil. Drop the Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey bag into a small jug or mug and pour the water straight over. Cover with a saucer and steep off the heat for six minutes. Ginger needs the longer time at temperature to draw the heat out.
3. Lift the bag out and press it gently against the side of the jug with the back of a spoon. Tip the hot concentrate over a separate jug filled with cubed ice (about 8 cubes); this shock chill drops the temperature in 30 seconds and locks the flavour in.
4. Strain the now chilled concentrate into a small bottle or jug and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes if you have the time, or use immediately if you do not. The colder it goes in, the cleaner the carbonation holds.
5. Take the copper mug out of the freezer. Fill three quarters with crushed ice. Pour in the 35ml of vodka, then the chilled concentrate, then the 15ml of fresh lime juice. Stir once gently with a long spoon to combine.
6. Top with the 80ml of chilled soda water, pouring slowly down the inside of the mug to preserve the fizz. Do not stir after the soda goes in; the bubbles will fold the drink for you.
7. Garnish with the lime wheel on the rim and the piece of crystallised ginger speared on a cocktail pick laid across the top. Serve with a metal straw; the copper is cold enough to fog from the outside.
8. Alcohol free swap: omit the vodka. Add an extra 15ml of fresh lime juice (so 30ml total) and an extra 30ml of soda water. Everything else stays the same. The drink still reads as a mule because the ginger heat does the heavy lifting; the vodka was always a quiet partner here.

Recipe: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/cocktails/iced lemon ginger manuka honey tea mule/