Honey Rosemary Iced Tea
Is there anything better on a hot summer day than a glass of sweet iced tea? This recipe for Honey Rosemary Iced Tea takes your typical sweetened tea and turns it up a notch! It features an easy to make rosemary honey simple syrup, iced steeped tea, and a good squeeze of lemon juice! Although this is an non-alcoholic drink, it can easily be made a little boozy with the addition of almost any spirit! Great for anyone and everyone!
The Time I ordered ‘Iced Tea’
Fun fact, in Canada we refer to ‘sweet teas’ as simply ‘iced tea’. So if you go to a restaurant and order iced tea you will get sweetened iced tea that typically comes out of the same fountain drink machine as all the other sodas. As a child, it never occurred to me that ‘iced tea’ could be any different than the sweet variety I was used to. But on one family trip to the US, we were at a restaurant and I ordered ‘iced tea’ – and sure enough I was served iced tea. Lets just say I was quite taken a back by this non-sweet variety and quite appalled to be honest (I was 5 and at that age sugar is life). It wasn’t until years later that I learned that in the US their version of sweet iced tea was called ‘sweet tea’!
Honey as the Sweetener
As you have surely noticed from the title of this recipe, the sweetener of this rosemary iced tea is honey! The choice to use honey, rather than a typical white-sugar based simple syrup, was two-fold. First was flavor. We all know and love that classic honey flavor, and it pairs so well with something like tea! Furthermore, there are so many varieties of honey, that you can easily impart the flavor of your favorite honey into this drink. Honey’s can range from clean tasting, to spicy and nutty, to floral and herbaceous in flavor! Any of these honey flavors would lend it’s self beautifully to this Honey Rosemary Iced Tea recipe.
The second reason for using honey is all the heath benefits it has! I mean, if were consuming a sugary drink, we might as well ensure it have some sort of beneficial payoff. Honey is high in antioxidants, has been shown to lower cholesterol, is lower on the GI-scale, and can lower triglycerides!
How to make the Rosemary Honey Simple Syrup
Making the rosemary honey simple syrup is very easy business. Start by adding equal parts honey and water, about 1 cup each, to a small saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil and allow it to boil for 1 minute. You may want to place a wooden spoon over top of the pot, just to ensure no boil-over. After the 1 minute has passed, simply throw in a good handful of fresh rosemary. I typically do about 10 sprigs of rosemary for the 1 cup water 1 cup honey ratio. Cook the rosemary in the boiling syrup for an additional 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the rosemary to sit in the syrup for 30-minutes to steep.
After 30 minutes, remove the rosemary sprigs, and strain the syrup to remove any loose leaves of debris from the syrup. This can be done with a fine mesh strainer, cheese cloth, or my favorite – a coffee filter! A coffee filter does the absolute best job at removing any and all impurities from the syrup, leaving behind a clear and clean syrup. Now simply allow the syrup to cool in the fridge for about an hour and it is ready for use!
How to assemble the Honey Rosemary Iced Tea
Assembling this Honey Rosemary Iced Tea is completely up to your preference of sweetness. Fill your cup with the cold steeped tea, add as much or as little rosemary honey syrup as you’d like, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. If I fill a 16oz glass with ice and cold steeped tea, I typically use about 2 tbsp of the syrup.
Can be made Alcoholic
As a last little note, this Honey Rosemary Iced Tea can easily be made into an alcoholic drink. My favorite alcoholic pairing? Bourbon of course! The sweet, spicy flavors of bourbon pair beautifully with a drink like this. If bourbon is not your jam, however, you can easily use vodka, gin (another favorite of mine), rum, etc. I’m not exaggerating when I say any spirit pairs really well with this drink.
Get the Recipe: Honey Rosemary Iced Tea
Ingredients
Honey Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Honey
- 10 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
Honey Rosemary Iced Tea
- 12 oz Chilled Steeped Black Tea,, such as Orange Pekoe or English Breakfast
- 1-2 tbsp of Honey Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Squeeze of Fresh Lemon
Instructions
Honey Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Add honey and water to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Allow to boil for 1 minute. After 1 minute, add in the rosemary sprigs. Continue boiling for 2 additional minutes, then remove from heat and allow the syrup to ‘steep’ for 30 minutes in the fridge. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Honey Rosemary Iced Tea
- In a 16oz glass filled with ice, all chilled tea. Sweeten the iced tea with your desired level of sweetness, then finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
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PASSION FRUIT AND GIN FIZZ COCKTAIL. This tropical drink just screams summer! Featuring gin, passion fruit juice, and some bubbly club soda!
Hi! You have a lovely blog. This recipe inspired me. The only thing that I would change is the syrup; I would rather not boil the honey. I’ll make sure to tag you in a picture as soon as I make it.
Have a great weekend!