Although not technically "tea" this is a recipe my niece brought home from camp - all her friends wanted it at the last party I threw for her. Sounds odd, but this is actually unusually, weirdly GOOD! They had a make-your-own pizza and pasta party and the rosemary lemon tea was a lovely foil for all those big Italian flavors.
(If 12 pre-teenagers dig this, there must be something to it!)
Rosemary Sun Tea/Lemonade
(the "measures" are geared toward
your pitcher, so experiment - this is fun!)
ON a SUNNY day -
1.)In a large glass jar with a lid, put 4 to 9 large spears of crushed/bruised FRESH rosemary and fill jar with water, close and put in the sun for
at least 3 hours. (The liquid needs to become very warm in order extract the essential oils from the herb.)
**PLEASE NOTE:
taste as you go - rosemary, like ANY fresh herb varies from plant to plant and some varieties are much stronger than others. **
2.) at the end of that time, drain off rosemary sun tea and make a simple syrup - heres the recipe :
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/beverage/simple-syrup-for-iced-tea-recipe.html3.)heres the recipe for THE BASE - that will need to be cut with water to taste:
1/3 simple syrup
1/3 to 1/4 rosemary sun tea
1/3 (or to taste fresh) lemon or lime juice cut halfand half with water
2 or 3 thinly sliced lemons or limes
To mix a quantity,
In your favorite pitcher, using your vessel as a measure,
begin with 2 to 3 cups of the base, adding lots of ice, water and sliced fruit to fill.
Use a lemon wedge around the edge of the glasses and dip in finely crushed lemon drops for an unusual rimmer and put a lemon wedge on the edge of each glass.
Have also tried this with other herbs to great success!
Enjoy! <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />
