Iced Lemon Verbena (Verveine) Recipe

The recipe

Exact quantities, then the method.

Verveine, or lemon verbena, is the herb the French reach for on a hot afternoon, and one taste of it iced shows why. It is intensely lemony and perfumed, more so than lemon balm, yet completely caffeine-free, so it makes a clean, fragrant cooler you can drink at any time of day. A wheel of lemon and a sprig of the verbena itself, lightly bruised, push the citrus scent right to the front. Brew it strong so it carries over the ice.

Source: teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Iced Lemon Verbena (Verveine) recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/iced-tea/iced-lemon-verbena-verveine/

15 min Serves 1 Easy Iced Tea Recipes

You'll need

2 tea bags of Rochambeau Verveine Infusion
200ml freshly drawn water at 100C, just off the boil
200ml cold still water
1 fresh lemon wheel
1 fresh lemon verbena sprig (or mint sprig as substitute)
Enough cubed ice (about 250g)

Equipment

1 tall 450ml glass, chilled in the freezer for ten minutes
1 small jug for steeping, 1 saucer for covering

Method

The 2 tea bags of verbena steep in 200ml of just boiled water, saucer on, for six minutes; then take them out.
Set the verbena in cold water or the fridge until fully chilled.
Over a tall glass of ice, pour the cooled verbena.
Into the verbena goes the cold water, eased over the back of a spoon.
Add the lemon wheel and a bruised sprig of lemon verbena, or mint if you cannot get it.
Tip: traditionally taken after dinner in France, it makes a lovely fragrant jug for warm evenings.

What you'll end up with: A clean, intensely lemony glass of iced verbena, fragrant and refreshing without a trace of caffeine.

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