Lemon Thyme Iced Tea - #CIC

A delicious refreshing tea made with lemon and thyme.

Lemon Thyme Iced Tea 

Spring has finally come to the Upper Peninsula and with spring comes warm temperature and sunshine.  With warmth you need refreshing ice drinks, so I thought it would be perfect to make an iced tea for this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge.  

If you google lemon and thyme recipes, you can find a multitude of different ones from sweet to savory.  They can be used together in cookies, breads, pastas and meat recipes.  When I heard the ingredients that were voted for this month,  I knew that I could do just about anything and I haven't done a drink recipe for a long time.

Not too long ago I was reading how you can make iced tea by putting the your tea bags or leaves in cold filtered water and placing it into the fridge for a few hours.  Another way is to put them in the water and placing the container in the sun for an hour or two, depending on the sun's intensity.  I decided to try placing the tea bags in water, then I left it in the fridge overnight and the tea was wonderful.

This recipe does take a while to make but it is worth the wait.  I loved the smooth taste of the black tea mixed with the lemon and thyme flavours.  I decided to make it slightly sweet, so made some Lemon Thyme Syrup to add to it - a perfect addition.  This drink can be unsweetened or sweetened to your taste.

Lemon Thyme Ice Tea Recipe

Ingredients: (for one cup)
1 tea bag  (I used Red Rose Black Tea)
1 cup of distilled or filter cold water
Couple of sprigs of thyme
Couple of slices of lemon (I used Meyer Lemons)
Ice
Lemon Thyme Syrup (recipe below)

Directions:
Put one teabag into one cup of distilled or filtered cold water.  Place in fridge for 6 - 8 hours. (I made 4 cups with 4 teabags - and left it in the fridge overnight - you can then take the teabags out and keep the tea in the fridge until you need it).

To each cup of brewed tea add a few sprigs of thyme and slices of lemon.  Let sit for 30 -60 minutes for flavours to mingle.  Optional add 1 -2 tsp of lemon thyme syrup to taste for sweetness.  Pour over ice and enjoy.

Garnish cup with lemon slices and extra sprig of thyme.


Lemon Thyme Syrup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (I used Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar)
1 cup water
1 tsp fresh thyme
Juice of 1/2 Meyer Lemon and a couple of slices

Directions:
In saucepan add sugar, water, thyme lemon juice and slices of lemon.  I also add the half of the lemon that I juiced.

Bring to boil over medium - high heat and boil for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and cool.

Strain lemon and thyme and pour into bottle.  Syrup can be left in the fridge for up to a week.

Do you like to think outside of the box?  Do you like to take ingredients that may or may not work together and make something awesome with them?  Then this group may be for you.  Each month we are given ingredients to vote on and the two ingredients with the most votes win.  We then post our challenges on the 20th of each month.  It is fun and exciting to come up with a new recipe each month.

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