Iced Honey Lemon Darjeeling

It's finally warm and sunny so I hope you're ready for lots and lots of summer recipes!

I decided to kick spring and summer off with this Iced Honey Lemon Darjeeling

I used some amazing First-Flush Darjeeling from Tea Campaign Canada. I'm currently running the Instagram for this tea company and I highly recommend their darjeeling. Check out their website here: http://www.teacampaign.ca

Iced Honey Lemon Darjeeling

4 cups hot water (175F)
4 tsp loose leaf darjeeling (find the darjeeling I used here: http://www.teacampaign.ca)
2-3 Tbs honey
1 lemon

1) Measure out 4 tsp. of darjeeling and 3 Tbs of honey

2) Heat water to 175F and steep the darjeeling in 4 cups of water for 12-15 minutes (this can vary depending on your preference)

 

3) While the tea is still hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of honey and stir to help it dissolve

4) Add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice until the taste is to your liking

5) Set tea in fridge for 2-3 hours until chilled

Honey Cocoa Iced Tea

I typically make iced coffee in the summer but I just started making good iced tea. Since I have way too much tea and it's far too hot outside to drink it warm, I needed an alternative.

Here are some simple tips for brewing your own iced tea with loose tea leaves:

1) Use more tea leaves then you would for hot tea (rather than 1 teaspoon use 1 1/2 teaspoons)

2) Let your tea steep for a good chunk of time. Depending on how strong the tea is, I usually let it steep for about 20-30 minutes

3) Sweeten your tea while it's still hot- this way the sweetener fully dissolves. I like to use honey rather than sugar so my drink is sweet, but not entirely bad for me!

4) Make tea ice cubes so the tea does't get watered down. Like watery iced coffee, it just isn't pleasant.

Ok enough tips, here's how I made this delicious Cocoa Iced Tea!

Honey Cocoa Iced Tea

4 cups of hot water
5-6 teaspoons of cocoa tea leaves (I used this tea: http://www.ambrosiaherb.com)
1 Tablespoon organic honey
2-3 teaspoons caramel sauce (Optional- this is for more of a dessert iced tea)
1/4 cup almond milk, milk or half & half (I prefer a mix of milk and almond milk)

1) Add tea leaves to almost boiling water

2) Add honey and caramel sauce

3) Let leaves steep for about 20 minutes

4) Strain tea into container and set in fridge until completely chilled

5) Pour chilled tea into glasses with ice

6) Add a touch of milk/cream

Enjoy!

Iced Mango Matcha Latte

I've been making myself this drink all the time lately!

Three reasons why I love it:
1) It requires only 3 ingredients
2) The matcha gives me an energy boost
3) It's dairy and gluten-free

Apart from these reasons, it's also relatively good for you! Matcha boosts concentration,  burns calories, and is full of antioxidants.

Iced Mango Matcha Latte 

For one person.... 

1 cup almond milk (any kind! I prefer Silk unsweetened)

1/2 cup mango juice (you can also use any kind- the sweeter the better)

1 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder (use less if you want less caffeine) 

Blend all ingredients in blender until mixture becomes frothy. Pour over ice and enjoy!

If you want this drink a little sweeter, consider using coconut sugar for a healthy option. 

Iced Strawberry Mocha

After picking some fresh strawberries last week, I have been dying to create some delicious strawberry recipes. This week I experimented with strawberries and coffee. Here's the delicious result!

Iced Strawberry Mocha Recipe

(Serves two)

2 cups cold coffee

1 cup milk

1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup frozen/fresh strawberries

Ice cubes 

1) Brew 2 cups of coffee and chill in fridge

2) Heat your strawberries on the stove or in the microwave

 3) Strain the strawberry juice into a sauce pan

 4) Add the sugar 

 5) Add the milk

 6) Add the cocoa and vanilla

 7) Heat the mixture in sauce pan until steaming. Transfer to container and chill

 8) Prepare glass with ice 

 9) Fill glass 3/4 full with iced coffee

 10) Fill rest of glass with chilled strawberry/milk mixture 

Enjoy!

Iced Mocha Punch

After making this iced mocha punch today, I'm already excited to make it again. It's the perfect drink for parties on hot days and coffee lovers are bound to enjoy it!

Iced Mocha Punch

9 cups of milk

5 cups of coffee

1 cup of sugar

6 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa powder

2 or 3 Tablespoons of vanilla

a pinch of salt

1) Heat up the milk, 3/4 cup sugar, the cocoa powder, the salt, and the vanilla in a large pot on the stove

2) Stir on medium heat until everything is dissolved in the milk

3) Pour most of the milk mixture (it should be just like hot chocolate) into a pitcher and stick in the fridge

4) Pour the rest of the milk mixture into an ice cube tray and stick it in the freezer

5) Make 5 cups of hot coffee and stir in 1/4 cup of sugar (the rest of the sugar) until it dissolves in the coffee

6) Pour most of the coffee into a pitcher and stick it in the fridge

7) Pour the rest of the coffee into 1 or 2 ice cube trays and stick them in the freezer

8) Let everything chill/freeze overnight

9) Pour the chilled milk mixture, the chilled coffee, and the ice cubes into the punch bowl and stir well

10) Enjoy! 

Oh, and I like to top mine off with some whipped cream!

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino

So how did I make such an elaborate drink with only a kitchen full of ingredients and my imagination to guide me? It all started with a really bad ice cream craving. For almost 3 whole years, when I was younger, I would order the exact same thing from any ice cream parlor we entered. If they had it, I would routinely order coffee and dark chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries mixed in. I decided that I wanted to take this favorite and turn it into a drink. A fancy drink. After an hour or two of being a total mad scientist in the kitchen, I created this lovely concoction. This drink makes me wish I had a time machine so I could go back and drink it again. And again. And again. 

Are you up to the challenge of making it? Trust me, it's worth it. 

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino 

Step 1) To start off, you are going to need to make my Simple Iced Coffee. You will need to do this either the day before or a few hours before you plan to enjoy your frappe. 

Step 2) Time to make Raspberry Chocolate Cream

1 cup of frozen raspberries

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar (optional, but definitely adds flavor and is highly recommend)

3 cups of milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a glass bowl and microwave until thawed

2. Strain the raspberry juice into a sauce pan (just throw away the left over seeds)

3. Add the sugar and vinaigrette to the raspberry juice

4. Stir on medium heat until the sugar dissolves and it becomes like a syrup

5. Stir in the milk, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder

6. Continue to stir on medium heat until mixture becomes just like raspberry hot chocolate

7. Pour most of the hot mixture into a pitcher and stick in the fridge to cool

8. Pour the rest of the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze (about 15 cubes)

 Step 3) Now to make the Raspberry Chocolate Syrup

1 cup of frozen raspberries

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar 

25 gram bar of DARK chocolate (The darker the richer! I used 85% dark)

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a glass bowl and microwave until thawed

2. Strain the raspberry juice from the seeds into a sauce pan

3. Add the sugar and raspberry vinegar to the raspberry juice

4. Stir on medium heat until the sugar dissolved and it becomes like a syrup

5. Add the bar of chocolate and stir until it melts 

6. Leave the chocolate syrup out on the counter to use later 

Step 4) Once the coffee is cooled, the raspberry chocolate cream is cooled, and the ice cubes are frozen, you may begin the Raspberry Chocolate Whipped Cream

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon  sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 big Tablespoon of the raspberry chocolate syrup

1. Put all the ingredients into a mixer and mix on highest setting until the cream becomes just like whipped cream. 

Step 5) Here's the very last step! Excited? Since you can't really make 7 frappuccinos all at once in one blender, I'll tell you how much to put in for just 1 or 2 frappes at a time. 

1. Pour a little less than 1/2 a cup of the Raspberry Chocolate Cream into the blender

2. Pour 1/4 cup of chilled coffee into the blender

3. Put 3 raspberry chocolate cream ice cubes and 3 coffee ice cubes in the blender

4. Put a spoonful of Raspberry Chocolate Syrup into the blender

5. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream (This is optional. It just makes it creamier) 

6. Blend away until mixture is smooth and creamy

7. Pour into glasses and spoon a generous amount of Raspberry Chocolate Whipped Cream on top. 

8. Drizzle the Raspberry Chocolate Syrup onto the top (Warning: if you're as generous as I am, you may run out quickly) 

Your masterpiece is now complete! Sit down and enjoy your frappe. I hope you feel fancy.