Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea is the perfect way to beat the heat this summer! With just 4 easy ingredients and minimal hands on time you will be making it over and over and over again!
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We’re gearing up for a {relative} heat wave here in Seattle. It’s what we do every year around this time in the Pacific Northwest. The temps soar up to the 90s for a week or so, everyone spends their days at the water, they share their best tips on cooling their non air conditioned houses and what to cook without heating up said houses, and then before you know it we plunge back to our mid 70s temperate weather and all is right again. At least until the rain starts in November, but that’s a different story. We are some of the lucky few that do have air conditioning in Seattle—it’s one of those things you don’t really need until you have it, and then once you do you wonder how you ever lived without it. Nonetheless, it’s still hot outside and we are constantly on the go (#momofboys), so my favorite way to keep cool is to sip on something cold all day long! This week I’ve got a big jug of Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea in my fridge, and I will be making it several times more as the temps climb. With just 4 ingredients, it comes together in less than 10 minutes. That’s my kind of summer “cooking.”
^^^ Amazing Seattle summer days!
Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea
I got the idea for this yummy tea at our local farmers’ market. I’m sure you’ve seen me posting on Instagram each week about our visits. We stop by and pick up our weekly haul of salsa at Niño Blanco. The boys grab popsicles at Seattle Pops. I pick up vegan ice cream at Bluebird Creamery. And we grab a whole bunch of berries and other produce. We also love to stop by and try out the different kids’ activities. A few weeks ago the ladies from the Methodist church hosted a kids’ booth to teach about herbs. The boys got to make little herb sachets to freshen up dresser drawers, and also got to play a trivia game. But perhaps my favorite activity at the booth was sampling the Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea. It was SO delicious. I went home and had to recreate it right away. I’ve been making it weekly ever since. It’s so simple to make, and so delicious.
^^^ Loving their popsicles from Seattle Pops at the Bellevue Farmers’ Market.
Just 4 ingredients!
Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea couldn’t be easier to make! It comes together in one small pot with just 4 ingredients + water! Rather than making a separate simple syrup to sweeten the tea I do it all at once. Water, sugar, and lemon peel go into the pot and are brought to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved the tea bags and rosemary sprigs are added to the pot and left to steep for 5 minutes. Once steeped, the mixture is strained, chilled, and poured over ice. That’s it. So simple!
Rosemary
Rosemary is thought to be good for gut health, an upset stomach, reducing memory loss, and oral health (see more info here). However, it’s also thought that excessive rosemary oil (we’re talking oil, NOT whole plant) isn’t great for you. This is why we just steep the whole rosemary sprig for 5 minutes, rather than leaving it overnight in the tea! It adds such a nice complex flavor, that is just subtle enough.
Sweet Tea
Ok, I have to be honest here. I prefer my tea sweeter than not. It’s something I’m working on! So for this recipe I use just 1/4 cup of sugar for 4 servings. For my first test of the recipe I used 1/2 cup of sugar and it was delicious. But you know what, it was just as delicious with half the amount, and I still really enjoyed it. Maybe adulting isn’t so bad after all. Feel free to fiddle with the amount if you’d like, but know that I find 1/4 cup of sugar to be the sweet spot (see what I did there?)!
Which tea should you use for iced tea?
Honestly, you can really use any tea you want to make iced tea. It’s all about personal preference. I really love jasmine green tea for it’s sweet floral flavor, but I like to enjoy it on it’s own. To pair with the rosemary and lemon I chose Earl Grey black tea. It’s lightly caffeinated, so it makes a great afternoon pick me up when cold brew coffee would be too much.
More Summertime Favorites to help you cool off!
- Watermelon Gazpacho
- Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bars with Cookie Crust
- Cold Brew Coffee Milk
- Mystery Frozen Fruit Cubes for Summer
- Maple Bacon Ice Cream with Bourbon and Walnuts
- Melon Lemonade Frosty — LeMELONade
Let’s make Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea!
Are you ready? You’re just minutes away from sweet tea goodness! Make a big batch of this to keep in your fridge to sip the heat away!!! Leave me a note in the comments below to let me know how you like it!!!
Rosemary Lemon Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup sugar (see post for details)
- 2 lemons
- 1 large sprig of rosemary (about 6-8 inches long)
- 4 Earl Grey tea bags
Instructions
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the yellow part of the lemons. Be careful not to get too much of the white pith, as it is bitter. Reserve remaining peeled lemons.
- Place water, sugar, and lemon peels into a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat. Place rosemary and tea bags into the pot and cover with a lid. Allow to steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and strain the tea mixture, removing tea bags, lemon peels, and rosemary. Do not squeeze the tea bags, as this can make it bitter.
- Juice the remaining peeled lemons and add the lemon juice to the tea mixture.
- Stir and chill. Serve over ice.
