I confess, one of my guilty pleasures when I am in Italy is Estathé‬. When I was a kid, I used to beg my mum to get me one when out at the beach. She would but only one a day. Of course I had not idea that tea contains caffeine and kids should probably not drink that much of it. I just loved piercing the plastic cup and drink the refreshing lemon tea. I still do today, mind.
This convoluted intro is to explain my long standing pleasure in sipping an ice tea especially when temperatures soar and the heat comes to town. The first few weeks of July 2013 have seen such heat in London town so what better way to cool down than experimenting with some refreshing teas. teapigs, a British brand of quality (and ethical!) teas, sent me a pack full of wonderfully aromatic teas and herbal tea blends to have some fun with.
I had already bought their Darjeeling Earl Grey, which I absolutely love (and check out the graphics!). It is on the pricier side of teas, but worth the treat for the Bergamot aromatic lovers. teapigs tick lots of boxes with me: they raise money for charity, they have clear and clever green credentials, they are a British company and they sell fabulous products.
I have tried already a few of those tea ‘temples’ (including a good solid every day brew for a classic, warming builders’ tea). While I can’t wait to do something other thank drinking these teas (soap making and baking come to mind), here are a couple of easy ideas for a cooling, healthy summer drink.
Peachy cooler
Per person:
1 teapigs tea temple of super fruit
Half nectarine, chopped in small cubes
1 teaspoon (or to taste) of vanilla sugar
A mint sprig to garnish
A sprinkle of cinnamon
Ice cubes
Place a tea temple in a tall tumbler glass, half of the nectarines cubes and pour boiling water and brew for 3-5 minutes. Top up with cold water, add the sugar, the rest of the nectarines bits, and the ice cubes. Stir to dissolve the sugar, sprinkle with a pinch of ground cinnamon; garnish with a slice of nectarine and a sprig of fresh garden mint, Enjoy!
Lime cooler
Per person:
1 teapigs tea temple of lemon and ginger
2 slices of fresh lime
2 slices of fresh lemon
A mint sprig to garnish
Soda water
1 teaspoon of brown sugar (to taste)
Ice cubes
Place the sugar and the slices of lemon and lime in a large glass and mash up with a cocktail masher (or the end of a wooden spoon, by the lack of a better thing!). Yes almost like if you were making a mojito, but this is healthier! As before, place the tea temple in the glass, pour boiling water over and let it brew for around 3-5 minutes. Finally, add cold soda water and ice cubes before garnishing with fresh mint (of which I have plenty in the garden, clearly).
I did not try to make this unhealthy by adding a shot of vodka, gin or rum – but given the taste of the drink, I have a feeling they’d have gone very well together!
teapigs are offering readers of this blog 15% off*! shop away www.teapigs.co.uk using the code BLOGGERS12. You can also sign up for their newsletter to find out more about their new blends and their promotions.
(*enter code at checkout. discount does not apply to 80g matcha tins or gifts and cheeky deals as these are already discounted)
Thanks teapigs for sending such a wonderfully aromatic bunch of tea bags over.
These drinks look very attractive and refreshing. They are ideal choice in this fabulous hot weather we are having at the moment.
Oh goodness, these look so tasty! I’ve bookmarked this page to remind me to buy!
Thank you both, they are very refreshing!