Tart Cherry & Mint Iced Tea

Tart Cherry & Mint Iced Tea / @loveandlemons

We have a new superfood obsession – we’re head over heels in love with tart cherries. It started with this froyo recipe, but since then I’ve been tossing frozen tart cherries into our morning smoothies and mixing tart cherry juice into cocktails, (among other simple uses)…

Tart Cherry & Mint Iced Tea / @loveandlemons

It’s an understatement to say that Jack and I both drink a lot of iced tea. While I usually prefer unsweetened tea – I’ve found that adding just a splash of tart cherry juice to plain black tea (or green tea) is so deliciously tangy and refreshing… and just slightly sweet, which is the way I like my tea. This is quick and easy make – it has just two ingredients plus some mint and a few lemon slices. Lime or orange slices would be lovely in here as well.

Tart Cherry & Mint Iced Tea / @loveandlemons

Tart cherry juice is full of antioxidants (just look at that dark color!), and is a natural antiinflammatory. Aside from that, most importantly, it just tastes really good. You can find it in the juice aisle of most stores. It’s next to the pomegranate and grape juices.

Tart Cherry & Mint Iced Tea / @loveandlemons

tart cherry & mint iced tea

 
Author:
Serves: serves 4
Ingredients
  • 2 black tea bags
  • 4 cups water
  • a few big handfuls of ice
  • ½ cup tart cherry juice (or more or less to taste)
  • handful of fresh mint
  • slices of lemon
  • optional - frozen tart cherries for garnish
Instructions
  1. Steep tea and let it cool to room temp. (or pop it in the fridge if you can't wait).
  2. Pour tea over ice and stir in tart cherry juice, mint, lemon slices & frozen tart cherries.
  3. Add more tart cherry juice to taste.
Notes
Feel free to add sweetener (honey, stevia, etc), to taste if you like your tea a bit sweeter.
If you want more minty flavor to your tea, try steeping a few mint sprigs with the tea and remove them before serving.
  tart cherries

23 comments

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Quick Food Ideas
    01.15.2015

    Looks like a great drink for summertime, can’t wait for the weather here to warm up to try it for myself.

  2. Great Article
    Thanks for the information 🙂

  3. dig from SILLYSHACK.COM
    09.22.2014

    Thank you for useful information for me. And I will try to study the benefits that I received it.
    I would say that your web site is very useful.

  4. Love that you used tart cherries in this, and the photos are phenomenal! Where are those glasses from?

    • jeanine
      09.13.2014

      Thanks Aida! They’re from Anthro 🙂

  5. I’ve heard such good things about tart cherries, I have to try them!

  6. sophie | lucky star anise
    09.07.2014

    This looks delicious and super refreshing!

  7. Alanna from bojongourmet.com
    09.07.2014

    I’m in love with these photos!!

  8. Greg from thebestfoodstv.com
    09.06.2014

    Tart cherries, whether they are frozen, dried or juice as shown are fantastic, and of course the antioxidants are great for you. Tea looks refreshing. Thanks.

  9. Kim
    09.06.2014

    Looks delicious, am going to have to try this. Have to ask, where did you find those delightful glasses? Am purging kitchen of all mismatched glasses and looking for something beautiful…

    • jeanine
      09.07.2014

      It’s from Anthropologie – I just love it! (and I just have one so it’s part of my mismatched collection 🙂

  10. What a great sweetener idea! I’m with you on preferring unsweetened tea, so something that adds just a bit of flavor and a hint of sweetness sounds perfect to me.

  11. It looks really fresh and tasty!
    Love to have such refreshment on Summer 🙂

  12. I have memories of picking red tart cherries from an enormous tree in my sister-in-law’s yard. We pitted and froze them. They inevitably ended up in pies. I froze the unsweetened juice to always have on hand as subtle flavoring for sparkling water, and it became one of my favorite summer drinks. The mint sounds like a wonderful complement.

  13. Wow! I love the props and that glass in these photos. And the drink itself sounds delicious.

  14. What a fantastic idea to add tart cherry juice to iced tea. I’ve never been an iced tea drinker but this sounds good even to me. 🙂

  15. Tart cherry juice is one of my favorite things, love the tang it gives to whatever you put it in. Can’t wait to try it with tea!

  16. Lecia from leciawphinney.com
    09.05.2014

    I grew up on (plain) iced tea (Southern parents) and I never particularly liked it. This sounds incredible – will try it over the weekend. It’s supposed to be a nice one.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.