It's summer. It's lavender harvest time. It's also a bit hot out. That trifecta of statements means that it is of course time to brew some lavender-infused iced tea! Because reasons!
Honestly, I never need a reason to brew iced tea because I pretty much live on the stuff, I love just plain old brewed black iced tea, but I'm also a proponent of enjoying seasonal produce and goods, so with all the lavender swirling around me, I thought it might be nice to incorporate it into my daily sipper for a spell.
And does anyone ever need a reason to enjoy lemons?
Being an adherent of the fresher the better way of living (especially when it comes to socks!), I wandered out to the lavender field again and grabbed some fresh stems. Okay, I might have grabbed a few more than I needed, but seriously, what's the point of growing an entire field of lavender if you don't pluck a few stems of blooming awesomeness to enjoy?
After getting more lavender than I needed, I walked back to the house, many random pets following in my wake, and proceeded to strip about a Tablespoon of fresh flowers from their stems.
Then, I got out a mixing bowl, threw in four large tagless iced tea bags and got my electric kettle going. It was during the waiting for the water to boil interlude that I got in some very much needed kitten therapy for the day. Three minutes of happiness right there! They are now mobile so what I actually did is put them back into their closet nursery, those needle claws of theirs are like little acupuncture needles of existential awareness, meow-ouch!
Once the kettle signaled it was boiling, I poured the water on the tea and lavender in the mixing bowl and went back to kitten-land for playtime while the tea steeped for five minutes. Belly scritches!
When I emerged from kitten playtime I walked to the cupboard and got out the food grade lemon essential oil that has been lurking in my cupboard since I purchased it for a previous project. It definitely needed to be utilized, and what better way than to infuse the stuff into iced tea!
Before the lemon could be added to the libation, I got out my super high tech and very bougie, three hundred year old, slightly rusty, mesh strainer that I think I procured from an estate sale about a decade and a half ago. My nice mesh strainer was in the dish washer, so the antique had to do.
I sat the strainer in a funnel on top of my half gallon mason jar that I use for iced tea and poured the tea through the strainer and into the jar.
Fun lavender fact: Lavender buds look like rodent feces, they really don't add anything to the aesthetics of one's ingestibles.
After straining the tea, I went to the freezer and grabbed out several handfuls of ice, adding them to the jar until it was full. Then I stirred in the lemon oil.
Finally, I went and got a cupful of ice in my soon to be sipping glass of lavender lemon iced tea gloriousness, and poured myself a cuppa.
Here's the thing, iced tea is my go-to drink, but iced lavender lemon iced tea is the BOMB. When you sip it you get the tannin-awesomeness bite of the tea, the refreshing burst of lemon flavor, and the scent and floral magnificence of the lavender. Not to mention lavender has a relaxing effect, so yep, calm vibes flow over you as you work your way through the glass and chill reigns.
And on that chill vibin note I shall leave you with the recipe and go enjoy another glass of said concoction!
Lavender Lemon Iced Tea
4 cups of water
1 TBSP fresh lavender blooms/buds (or 1 tsp dried)
4 big black tea bags (I used the tagless iced tea kind)
1/8 tsp food grade lemon essential oil
iceBoil the water, in a bowl place the lavender and tea bags, pour water over the tea and lavender and steep for five minutes.
Strain out tea and lavender, add ice to bring down temperature of tea, then stir in lemon oil. Pour into an ice filled cup, sweeten if desired, and enjoy!!
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Good Afternoon good sir!😁
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Yes you do 😀
Hope you are having a fantastic weekend. Here is something to make you smile.
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Smile achieved lol lol! That's awesome!
I thought so. Held up traffic behind me to get that pic 😉 lol
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Lots of work for a glass of tea but I am sure it tasted great.
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LOL! Ahh, it wasn't really that bad on the work front, but it did taste awesome so the work was worth it!
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haha so true!!
you are a great homesteader!! respect! !CTP
Aww, @mypathtofire, you say the nicest things! I aspire to engage with posts like you when I grow up, you are super inspiring on that front for real😊
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I've never tasted lavender. However, if it tastes as good as it it smells, then you had a delightful aromatic tea break.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I wouldn't have thought to use black tea.
Take care.
Read from LN
Lavender, when used sparingly and the right variety, is an amazing thing to eat! That said, a lot of people have been scared off from it because of using varieties that aren't the best for culinary purposes or people were too heavy handed when adding it to food. I really hope you get to taste it sometime!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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OK. Thanks for the info.
Every time I see something about lavender and how lovely it is, I wish I liked the stuff...but alas...
Oh I know it's not for everybody for sure! I have a cousin who can't abide even the smell of cilantro and it tastes like soap to him, whereas I can't get enough of the stuff. I figure lavender is much the same. That said, the cultivar I produce, Munstead (L. Augustifolia) has the most light, non-camphory flavor profile, and over the years I have really worked hard to develop recipes and show folks in my community just how awesome lavender can be when added to food.
That said, it's also a fun plant to just enjoy smelling lol!
!PIZZA
I am in your cousin's camp, and have often wondered if the things most people seem to like like cilantro, lavender, and licorice are in some way tied together... Can't stand any of them...
Thank you for sharing. I'll definitely try this out! I wonder if I could substitute for Rose?
You should totally try that! I'd love to hear how it went!😊
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Yay! 🤗
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I am having a hard time believing that it is good with lavender. I drink pretty much nothing but Iced Tea at home. I do occasionally use lemon but I would expect this concoction to taste perfumey. I reckon I will just need to try it and see.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
LOL! That's okay, when I used to sell lavender shortbread and lemon lavender salted white chocolate chip cookies at the farmers market people would have the same reaction, but after offering them a sample I would have returning loyal customers. Lavender offers a floral note that's not perfumy if you use the right cultivar and in the right proportions it's an amazing flavor.
Isn't iced tea the greatest?! I love the stuff, glad to find a fellow adorer lol!
Thanks for stopping by😊
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Lavender lemon tea is totally new to me, from your excitement it must be refreshing.
Super refreshing! I have drank several glasses of it over the last few days after spending hours harvesting lavender in the field, it really is nice:)
Thanks for stopping by!
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Wow, I've never thought about the combination of iced tea + lavender + lemon but using lemon essential oil. I can imagine it smells amazing and it's perfect for a summer afternoon. Thank you for the recipe, I will definitely try this one.
Thanks so much! And as much as I love fresh lemon, sometimes I don't feel like running to town to grab a few, so the lemon EO really does the trick, the flavor is awesome! I hope you like the combo!
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I wonder how a lavender tea tastes like. Good afternoon from the Philippines!
Aww, Good morning from Idaho! It's really floral and soothing, kinda hard to describe, but I sure love it! Hope you are having a lovely day!
!PIZZA
I see, thank you for the response (^_^)
Yes indeed. Just like that old life adage: when life gives you lavender, make lavender iced tea 🤣
Absolutely! Such a good bit of ancient, well-known wisdom right there lol lol!
I am definitely trying this as soon as I get some lavender. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks @rcaine! Hope you enjoy it!
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