Iced Blackcurrant Tea with Fresh Blackberries and Lemon Verbena
A flash chilled iced Hyson Blackcurrant Ceylon over eight lightly muddled blackberries with a sprig of lemon verbena tucked in the ice.
Iced blackcurrant tea works best when you give it some real fruit to draw on: eight ripe blackberries muddled lightly in the base of the glass, Hyson Blackcurrant Infused Black Tea flash chilled over the top, and a sprig of lemon verbena tucked into the ice. The blackberries double back into the blackcurrant in the bag and leave a pulpy base the drinker pulls up through a wide straw. Verbena is the surprise: it shares a soft lemon floral edge with dark berries, so it lifts the glass without fighting the Ceylon.
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Iced Blackcurrant Tea with Fresh Blackberries and Lemon Verbena recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/iced tea/iced blackcurrant tea with fresh blackberries and lemon verbena/
Flash chill rather than cold brew, since the Ceylon base wants a hot extraction: one bag in 150ml of full boil water for three minutes, a teaspoon of caster sugar stirred in while it is hot to bring the dark berries forward, then poured straight over the ice. Muddle the blackberries gently, five seconds with a wooden spoon, just enough to break them into pulpy pieces; crush them hard and the seeds turn bitter. Tuck the verbena down among the ice rather than on top so it scents the body of the drink.
You'll need
- 1 Hyson Blackcurrant Infused Black Tea bag
- 150ml filtered water at a full rolling boil (100°C)
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 8 fresh ripe blackberries (about 50g; from a small punnet)
- 1 small fresh lemon verbena sprig (4 to 6 leaves on a stem; substitute lemon balm or fresh basil if verbena is unavailable)
- 1 thin slice of lemon, optional, on the rim
- 250g cubed ice (not crushed; cubes hold longer against the blackberry pulp)
- 1 wooden spoon or muddler, for the blackberries
- Glassware: 400ml tall iced tea glass or stemmed wine glass, pre chilled in the freezer for ten minutes
Method
- Pre chill the iced tea glass in the freezer for at least ten minutes.
- Bring the kettle to a full rolling boil. Drop the Hyson Blackcurrant Infused Black Tea bag into a small heatproof jug and pour 150ml of the freshly boiled water straight over.
- Steep uncovered for three full minutes. Lift the bag out and press it gently against the side of the jug. Stir in the 1 teaspoon of caster sugar while the brew is still hot so it dissolves cleanly.
- Take the iced tea glass out of the freezer. Place the 8 fresh blackberries in the bottom of the glass and muddle them with the wooden spoon for about five seconds: light pressure, just enough to break the berries into pulpy chunks. Do not over muddle; over muddled blackberries release a bitter seed note.
- Add the cubed ice on top of the muddled blackberries, filling the glass three quarters full. The blackberry pulp at the bottom shows through the glass as a deep purple base.
- Pour the still hot sweetened concentrate over the ice in one steady stream. The ice will roar as it shatters; within twenty seconds the glass is cold to the touch and the deep red purple iced tea sits over the blackberry pulp base.
- Tuck the small fresh lemon verbena sprig among the cubed ice high in the glass, so the leaves sit just below the rim. Lay the optional thin lemon slice on the rim.
- Serve immediately with a wide straw or two thin straws (the wide bore lets the drinker draw up some of the blackberry pulp at the bottom). Drink within fifteen minutes; the blackberries keep releasing juice into the iced tea and the drink improves as it sits.
Want the background, not just the brew?
Brewed with: Hyson Blackcurrant Infused Black Tea, 32 Tea Bags 32g
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