If you’re looking for refreshing, tea infused chilled beverages with reduced sugar then you’re in the right place.
I’ve teamed up with plastic-free and planet-loving shop Coconut & Cotton again to bring you six ways you can enjoy your loose tea chilled this summer. When temperatures rise it’s difficult to sip on a hot cup of tea right? So I’ve come up with six recipes for drinks that have been infused with loose tea so you can still enjoy the health benefits and flavours of loose tea but in exciting new ways. In this post you will find the recipes for the following six alcoholic and non-alcoholic tea infused recipes:
Iced tea
Agua de Jamaica
Mango sorbet green tea punch
Hibiscus margarita
Mango and raspberry green tea mocktail
Hibiscus champagne cocktail
These recipes use either Coconut & Cotton’s Mango sorbet green tea or Pure hibiscus tea but you can swap the tea for your favourite flavour of herbal or fruit loose tea.
For more content featuring Coconut & Cotton check out How to have an earth-conscious spa day at home, How to make handmade loofah soap, Eco-conscious period packing list and Sustainable stocking fillers for travellers.
Why loose tea is better for the planet
Research by the University of East Anglia shows that half of the UK’s leading tea brands make their teabags with a non-biodegradable plastic skeleton. These polypropylene teabags mean the teabag will hold its integrity as the tea brews but for the sake of a few more minutes in a mug these teabags will sit on the planet for hundreds of thousands of years. With Brits collectively drinking approximately 36 billion cuppas per year it’s easy to see why switching to loose tea is an important yet super easy sustainable switch which massively reduce tea drinker’s single-use plastic consumption.
Unlike all the single-use teabags on the market shelves, loose tea has the potential to be steeped a second time – sometimes more! – and we all know that if it’s reusable it’s better for the planet, right? Simply remove your tea infuser, with leaves still inside, and place in a mug ready for your next cup of tea. This article by Tea How details some important questions such as which tea leaves can be brewed again, for how long and how many more times.
Why loose tea is a better cuppa than teabags
Ever wondered why tearooms serve you a teapot with loose tea rather than teabags? It’s not just because it looks hella fancy, it’s also because loose tea provides a better brew.
Mass-manufactured teabags tend to be made with lower quality tea leaves and often lose their flavour and freshness when they’re broken into such tiny pieces. When brewed, loose tea leaves expand letting in more water to extract their full flavour giving a much more rounded and intense taste.
This insightful article by Mental Floss on how long to steep your tea depending on your preference of flavour and health benefits.
Shop Coconut & Cotton’s loose tea
Plastic-free shop Coconut & Cotton sells over 30 flavours of loose tea. The range covers herbal, fruit and black teas and will see you through from your first cup of Good Morning Blend at the start of the day right to a calming cup of Sleepy Herbal before bed.
Some of my favourites include the English Breakfast, Rose Earl Grey black tea and Moroccan Mint (which I drink daily to aid digestion).
All of Coconut & Cotton’s loose teas are sold in 100% biodegradable packaging so you can pop the kettle on knowing your daily cup of tea is plastic-free and won’t be filling landfills for generations to come!
To make the following tea infused drinks you will need loose tea which you can shop from Coconut & Cotton using the links below.
Mango sorbet green tea at £4.60 100g
Pure hibiscus tea at £4.20 for 90g
Shop from Coconut & Cotton’s range of 30 plus loose teas starting from £2.80 per bag.
Coconut & Cotton often add tea samples to their orders so you’ll be able to try even more when you shop from them
6 tea infused drink recipes
Okay, so now that you know why loose tea is better for you and the environment, here’s 6 tea infused drinks for you to cool down with.
The following recipes make one glass of each tea infused beverage.
1. Iced tea
If you don’t fancy drinking a hot cup of tea on a sweltering summer’s day then my friend, you are not alone. The easiest way to enjoy all the benefits of your favourite tea is to make iced tea! Here’s how to make Iced tea using loose tea:
What you need to make iced tea
1 tsp of tea from Coconut & Cotton, I’m using their Mango sorbet green tea
250ml boiling water
A handful of ice cubes
How to make iced tea
Measure out 1 tsp of loose tea into a tea infuser and place in a mug
Pour the boiling water over the infuser and leave the tea to brew for 2-3 minutes
Remove the tea infuser and leave the tea to cool for a moment
Pour the tea over ice in a glass and enjoy through one of Coconut & Cotton’s glass straws
2. Agua de Jamaica, Hibiscus juice
PFH Fun Fact: “Flor de Jamaica” is a Central American term for hibiscus flower.
Agua de Jamaica is a classic agua fresca – a non-alcoholic drink made with water infused by either fruits, seeds, flowers or grains – in Mexico and is made by steeping hibiscus flowers, so it’s basically hibiscus juice but it actually tastes like a tart cranberry juice. It’s both sweet and tart and accompanies a summer lunch or BBQ very well and it’s loaded with vitamin C so it’s great for your immune system. Here’s the recipe for Agua de Jamaica:
What you need to make Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus juice)
1 tsp Pure hibiscus tea from Coconut & Cotton
50ml boiling water
200ml cold water
2 tsp caster sugar (traditionally Agua de Jamaica is served very sweet but I don’t want to recommend adding too much sugar so add as per your preference)
A sprig of fresh mint to garnish
Handful of ice cubes
How to make Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus juice)
Measure out 1 tsp of loose tea into a tea infuser and place in a mug
Pour the boiling water over the infuser and leave the tea to brew for 10 minutes
Remove the tea infuser and stir in the sugar until it dissolves then leave to cool
Pour the tea over ice in a glass, top up with cold water then garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy through one of Coconut & Cotton’s glass straws
3. Mango sorbet green tea punch
Looking for something you can make for a gathering of friends or family? Multiply this rum punch recipe below to please the crowd, it’s perfect for summer BBQs!
What you need to make mango sorbet green tea punch
1 tsp Mango sorbet green tea from Coconut & Cotton
100ml boiling water
100ml ginger beer
25ml rum
1 slice of lemon
Handful of ice cubes
How to make mango sorbet green tea punch
Measure out 1 tsp of Mango sorbet green tea into a tea infuser and place in a mug
Pour the boiling water over the infuser and leave the tea to brew for 2-3 minutes
Remove the tea infuser and leave the tea to cool
Add the ice and lemon slices to a glass
Pour the tea over the ice, top up with ginger beer, stir and enjoy through one of Coconut & Cotton’s glass straws
4. Hibiscus tea margarita
Pink margaritas, need I say more? Mix up your regular margarita recipe and simply add some chilled hibiscus tea, it’s really that simple but looks way more fun!
What you need to make a hibiscus tea margarita
1 tsp of Pure hibiscus tea from Coconut & Cotton
125ml of boiling water
50ml Blanco tequila
25ml cointreau
25ml lime juice
1 slice of lime
1 tbsp table salt
How to make a hibiscus tea margarita
Measure out 1 tsp of Pure hibiscus tea into a tea infuser and place in a mug
Pour the boiling water over the infuser and leave the tea to brew for 2-3 minutes
Remove the tea infuser and leave the tea to cool
In the meantime sprinkle the salt onto a saucer and cut a decorative slice of lime for garnishing
Run lime juice from the lime around the rim of the glass and dip it into the salt on the saucer
Add the brewed Pure hibiscus tea, tequila, cointreau and lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until the shaker feels cold in your hand
Strain the cocktail into the glass over ice and garnish with the slice of lime
5. Mango and raspberry green tea mocktail
For those who don’t drink alcohol but want something a little more exciting than iced tea, give this mango and raspberry green tea mocktail a go.
What you need to make a mango and raspberry green tea mocktail
1 tsp Mango sorbet green tea from Coconut & Cotton
125ml boiling water
100ml lemonade
3-5 raspberries
A sprig of fresh mint
Handful of ice cubes
How to make a mango and raspberry green tea mocktail
Measure out 1 tsp of Mango sorbet green tea into a tea infuser and place in a mug
Pour the boiling water over the infuser and leave the tea to brew for 2-3 minutes
Remove the tea infuser and leave the tea to cool
Add the ice, raspberries and a few mint leaves to a glass
Pour the tea over the ice, top up with soda water and garnish with a sprig of mint and stir and enjoy through one of Coconut & Cotton’s glass straws
6. Hibiscus champagne cocktail
Add a little something, something extra to your champers or prosecco, you do you boo, by infusing your glass with some hibiscus petals. It doesn’t take many to turn your plain bubbles into hot pink fizz with this very simple recipe.
What you need to make a hibiscus champagne cocktail
A pinch of Pure hibiscus tea from Coconut & Cotton
250ml of champagne or prosecco – whatever your preference
How to make a hibiscus champagne cocktail
Pop a pinch of Pure hibiscus tea that includes a few flowers to a champagne flute or coupe glass
Fill your glass with either your choice or champagne or prosecco, leave the hibiscus tea to infuse for a couple of minutes then give it a stir before serving
Coconut & Cotton products used to make these tea infused beverages
The following products used to make the tea infused recipes listed above can all be purchased from Coconut & Cotton – a female owned, UK based and plastic-free company – by clicking on the links of each product.
For more content featuring Coconut & Cotton check out Eco-conscious period packing list, How to make handmade loofah soap, How to have an earth-conscious spa day at home and Sustainable stocking fillers for travellers.
If you try any of the tea infused recipes above then let me know how it worked out in the comments below or share with other readers what your favourite way to enjoy your tea is.
Do more on & for the planet,
Gabriella
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This is a sponsored post with one of PFH’s longterm brand partners, Coconut & Cotton
