Rosemary, Lime & Jaggery Iced Tea

Nothing cools you down on a hot summer day like a tall glass of iced tea. This recipe for iced tea is flavored with fresh rosemary and lime, and is sweetened with earthy jaggery.

Texas summers are long and hot. Since I ranted about it in my last post, I am not gonna bore you with the details again. Let’s just say, you will be thankful for today’s recipe if it’s quite warm where you live.

I love iced tea and always order it whenever we are dining out casually. It goes with almost anything! Plus, it is so easy to make it at home. And you don’t even need any weird-tasting synthetic iced tea ‘mixes’. You start with a good brand of black tea leaves.

Once you have brewed your tea, it’s time to get creative with the flavorings and sweeteners. And this is where the star of this recipe comes into play. What you see below is jaggery, an unrefined sugar commonly used in India and parts of Asia and Africa. Jaggery is made from either sugarcane or palm sugar. The juice is boiled in large vats till they reduce to a dark caramel colored semi-solid substance. This is cooled and broken down to smaller pieces, which can either be grated or dissolved in water to make sweet syrup. Depending on what is used to make it, jaggery can range from a light golden to a deep amber color. It is an amazing alternative to processed white sugar, and has a deep, earthy flavor and aroma.

Jaggery is widely used in Indian cuisine and you can check out these recipes for ideas.

• Godhumai paal kozhukattai (wheat dumplings in jaggery and coconut milk).
• Slow-cooker brown rice and jaggery kheer.
• Vegan broken wheat payasam with jaggery.

Sorry to digress. Let’s talk more about this iced tea. I love adding citrus and herbs to my homemade iced teas. Rosemary and lime are perfect for adding a burst of freshness to iced teas in summer.

The rosemary, lime and jaggery add a delicious flavor to this iced tea. It truly is unique and you won’t find it in any of those readymade mixes. So be sure to check out the recipe below and make it yourself. There is nothing to chase away summer woes like a glass of iced tea over ice.

If you cannot get rosemary, feel free too use fresh mint leaves instead. Lemon can be used instead of lime as well. I also have an amazing orange iced tea recipe on the blog.

Here’s the super cool recipe!

Rosemary, Lime & Jaggery Iced Tea

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Nothing cools you down on a hot summer day like a tall glass of iced tea. This recipe for iced tea is flavored with fresh rosemary and lime, and is sweetened with earthy jaggery.

Author: Anjana Devasahayam

Recipe type: Beverages

Cuisine: America, Indian

Serves: 8-10

You will need:

• Water - 8 cups, divided
• Black tea - 4 tsp
• Fresh rosemary - 2 sprigs
• Jaggery - 1 cup, grated, lightly packed
• Lime - 1-2 (use as per tartness desired)
• Ice cubes - as needed, for serving

How to:

1. In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the tea, stir and remove from heat. Add 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain with a fine mesh sieve and cool this black tea to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, take jaggery and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan. Stir and dissolve jaggery on medium heat. Strain to remove any impurities and cool the jaggery syrup.
3. In a large pitcher, add rest of the water, strained tea, juice of lime(s) and jaggery syrup. Stir well and serve over lots of ice or keep refrigerated.

Notes:

1. Add lime juice and jaggery syrup as per taste. Start with a small amount, taste and add more as needed.

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Do you like iced tea? Do you make it from scratch? What do you flavor it with? Do try this rosemary and lime iced tea with jaggery and let me know how you like it.

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I am sharing this over at Fiesta Friday.