Lemon Verbena Sweet Tea
In my book, it wouldn’t be summer without hanging out on my porch drinking quite a few pitchers of sweet tea. For those of you who did not grow up drinking sweet tea, let me fill you in.
Sweet tea is iced tea with a sugar high.
In a pinch you can add a few tablespoons of sugar to a glass of iced tea and stir, stir, stir until it dissolves. But the best way to make sweet tea is with simple syrup, because it adds a dose of sugar instantly, minimal stirring required.
Simple syrup is, well, simple. All you have to do is stir equal parts sugar and water together over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. But I like to complicate things slightly by infusing herbs into the simple syrup. Pretty much any herb will work, but my favorite is lemon verbena, because it has an entirely unique citrusy, floral flavor.
Enjoying the final days of summer
Lemon Verbena Sweet Tea
Lemon verbena simple syrup pairs up especially well with a glass of strongly brewed Lavender Earl Grey, which I buy loose from Miro Tea in Seattle (but you can find it online, too). This sweet tea has a bold Earl Grey flavor, and the lavender and lemon verbena add yummy, unexpected herbal notes!
Experiment by replacing the lemon verbena in this recipe with your favorite herbs—I’m partial to basil—and keep a few flavored simple syrups on hand for mixing into cocktails, sweetening lemonade, and dressing up fruit.
What you’ll need:
1 cup of cold water
1 cup of cane sugar
½ cup fresh lemon verbena leaves
1 tablespoon of loose Lavender Earl Grey tea (or 3 tea bags)
Instructions:
1. To make the syrup, first squeeze the lemon verbena leaves with your hands until they are bruised and very fragrant. Then, chop the leaves finely and place them in a medium sized bowl. Combine the sugar and the water in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the hot simple syrup over the lemon verbena leaves, cover, and set the syrup aside for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours (the syrup should turn from clear to golden brown). Then, line a strainer with cheesecloth. Pour the syrup through the strainer and discard the leaves. Store the syrup in a covered container in the refrigerator.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of Lavender Early Grey tea to a large teapot (or 3 tea bags). Bring four cups of cold water to a boil in a tea kettle and then pour it over the tea. Allow the tea to steep for 4 minutes and then remove the tea leaves. Pour the tea into a pitcher and chill it in the refrigerator.
3. To make sweet tea, fill a large drinking glass half way with ice. Then pour the cold tea over the ice and stir in the simple syrup to taste (I like about 2 tablespoons).
I adore sweet tea. I grew up drinking my neighbor’s sweet sun tea, which still is the standard bearer for what tea ought to be in my book. This recipe sounds great, I’ll have to try it before the weather remembers what city we live in. Thanks!
September 16th, 2008 at 9:54 amSweet tea takes me back to visiting every Virginia relative I have. Its often so sweet its syrupy. In our family, we didn’t bother with a simple syrup. We just stirred in sugar to the hot, steeping tea. Today, at home, I make iced tea daily, all year. I toss in a dash of sweetener just to cut the bite; my adult butt can’t afford true sweet tea every day. I’ve started using Agave Nectar instead of sugar. Its lower on the glycemic scale AND it dissolves instantaneously (better dissolver than honey, but don’t expect the taste of honey.) Can’t wait to try the lemon verbena recipe. I adore this particular citrusy flavor! It should be amazing with the bergamont/lavender taste of Earl Grey!
September 16th, 2008 at 10:32 amSun tea makes awesome sweet tea. When I was a kid my mom pretty much always had a jar of sun tea brewing on the deck! And Robin, I keep reading about agave nectar. I think I’ll finally have to pick some up the next time I go shopping.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pmHi Willi, I don’t have any lemon verbena but I do have some lemon balm in my herb garden. I bet that would make a good substitute.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:53 pmSounds refreshing. I think this might be a good use for my thriving peppermint. Thanks!
September 16th, 2008 at 4:02 pmLemon balm would definitely work, though it will deliver a stronger lemony punch than lemon verbena. And peppermint (or any mint for that matter) is a great choice for infusing simple syrups!
September 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pmI’ve been wondering what to do with my lemon verbena–now I know! Also thinking I’ll try it with tangerine or pineapple sage. (If you want to try that, feel free to raid my bushes–they’re going nuts now.)
September 17th, 2008 at 9:57 amMari…if you’re overwhelmed with lemon verbena, I recommend The Herbal Kitchen cookbook. There’s a fantastic lemon verbena pork ball recipe that is unsurpassed (especially when made along with the spicy coleslaw recipe in the same cookbook) Yum!
Let us know how the pineapple sage works out. I’ve found its fantastic aroma doesn’t translate when used in cooking, but I’d love to hear otherwise from you!
September 17th, 2008 at 10:07 amAll this sun tea talk inspired me to get out the old jar and have some before the snow flies, believe it or not my new favorite tea is plain old Tetley’s black tea. It is delicious.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:48 pm