Effortless summer iced teas

Few things bring as much joy as an afternoon lounging in the sunshine, and, now that Britain’s temperature has hit the 30 mark, we can mark the start of the summer season in style. But, for this year, it'll be in true lockdown fashion.

Although we might be missing out on a trip to our favourite pubs and cafes, for now, these recipes provide the perfect at-home version of your favourite drinks on ice.

If you’re starting to gear yourself up for a stunning staycation, or just want to add a luxe touch to your afternoons in the garden, we’ve got just the drinks for you.

Quick, fresh, easy, impressive and (it’s boiling, so most importantly) refreshing - these recipes tick all of the boxes.

Or, you can bottle these brews and take them with you to the park or to a socially-distanced BBQ with your friends. It’s an elegant alternative to grabbing a takeaway iced cooler (plus, it’s free of single-use plastics and is an awful lot better for you, too).

We’ve provided two of our favourite summer iced tea recipes that have captured the essence of the season. Because what better way to lounge in the sunshine than with a chilled glass of homemade iced tea in hand?

First up, below you’ll find our recipe for a gorgeous lemon and basil iced tea blend.

Lemon & B,asil iced tea recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Fresh basil leaves, 6
• Green tea bags, 2
• Lemon, ½, thinly sliced
• Hot water, 700ml
• A dash of raw honey (optional)

 

Method:

1. In a large jug or pitcher, pop in the basil, tea bags and lemon slices. Boil your iKettle to 82,°C, then pour the hot water into the jug.
2. Allow the mixture to brew for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the tea bags, and then allow the brew to chill completely in the fridge (this should take around 3-4 hours). During this time, the flavours will all infuse perfectly into the drink.

We think that refreshing, zingy lemon with the uplifting notes of basil is a wonderful summertime-inspired combination and a Smarter team favourite

Next up on our summer iced tea round-up, is our recipe for a yummy blend that’s flavoured with coconut and lime. Perfect for a virgin cocktail at a party, or just for lounging and sipping in the garden, as you soak up the sunshine.

Coconut & lime iced tea recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Black tea bags, 2
• Lime, ½, thinly sliced
• Coconut water, 700ml, heated
• A little dollop of raw honey

Method:

1. To a large jug or pitcher, add in the tea bags and lime. Heat the coconut water to 82°C, you can do this with your iKettle, then add this into the container too.
2. Allow the mixture to steep for 15 minutes so that the tea infuses the mixture. Then remove the tea bags.
3. Pop the brew into the fridge, so that it can cool down completely (this should take about 3-4 hours) and the flavours can seep into the mixture, cold-brew style.

There’s loads of different methods that you could use to make your own homebrew iced tea, but the hot water (followed by a gradual cool down) method is one that we’d recommend because it’s an efficient way of making iced tea, that still ensures that you’re extracting the full amount of flavour from your ingredients.

With the cold brew method that we’ve detailed in these two recipes, you can use this technique as a bench point from which to create your own twists to the drink. By putting your own spin on the ingredients - including changing the choice of tea bags, herbs, spices or fruit that are used in the brew - you can dream up your own idea of the perfect summertime drink.

It’s a great activity to get the kids involved in too - let them get creative with flavours and ideas, to make a drink that you can all share together later on in the garden. Ideas for delicious flavour additions could include berries, mint leaves, a cinnamon stick, grapefruit, a dash of fruit juice, or even your pick of a different herbal tea bag. You can check out our,, blog’s yummy peach iced tea recipe for some further inspiration.

What’s brilliant about these brews is that the no-fuss storage method makes it super easy to just grab yourself a glass from your jug in the fridge. Or, if you want to bring out the jug to serve to the family or your guests, you can decorate it by popping a few pieces of fresh fruit and herbs in the jug. It looks attractive, highlights the solely natural ingredients of these nutritious brews, and they also make tasty additions to gobble up once the drink’s been drunk.

The taste of these sugar-free iced teas might come as a bit of a surprise, if you’ve only ever drunk supermarket bottles of the stuff before. Unfortunately, those drinks are packed full of sugar, preservatives and artificial flavourings, so that they taste more like a pack of gummy sweets in liquid form. These DIY iced teas pack a bit of an alternative flavour punch, but they are infinitely better for you and very Instagrammable.

Our iced teas are all-natural, delicious and refreshing brews that are packed full of nutritious ingredients. But, the lack of sweet might not be everyone's cup of tea (pun intended). So this is why we added the dash of honey to our ingredients - you could use a small drop of raw honey, or maple syrup to give your drink a tasty sweet kick, or take it out altogether if you haven’t got much of a sweet tooth. Even with the addition of a little bit of natural sweetener, these brews are still perfect for a clean lifestyle.

---

It’s amazing just how much you can do with an iKettle - who’d have thought it would provide a key tool for making ice cold refreshing summer drinks?

Our Smarter iKettle prides itself on its versatility and is, without a doubt, a brilliant addition to any kitchen, come rain or shine. This recipe requires you to heat the water to 82,°C, as this makes for the absolute optimum temperature to extract the maximum amount of flavour from your tea, without it bringing any harsh bitter notes to the drink. Now, that might seem awfully picky on our part, but for us, tea drinking is designed to be a luxurious treat-yourself experience, and the iKettle is a piece of kit made with that experience in mind.

The iKettle grants users extensive flexibility over their tea drinking, providing you with the perfect temperature of the water, to exactly suit your beverage of choice. We’re all about the finer things in life and, in our minds, it doesn’t get much finer than a refreshing cuppa.

It does all that and more - thanks to its innovative WiFi capabilities, the iKettle offers users a huge range of intelligent features, including voice activation, pairing up with Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Siri, to give you the ultimate in a reimagined modern kettle.

So, if an iKettle is exactly what you need to upgrade your home brewing experience, you can get yours from our online store - it’ll be with you before the heatwave ends, ready for long afternoons basking in the sunshine with a few glasses of these divine iced teas.