This is what I drank after a long hot sweaty bike ride in Beijing.
I have a $25 one-speed from the local Carrefour which I am supposed to leisurely pedal. Cheap one-speeds are not meant to go fast. Sometimes I forget this, especially when I go to my favorite grocery stores that happen to be half an hour away by bike. My tendencies to zip by old men on their Flying Pigeons and come home glowing with perspiration I blame on having commuted to work by road bike on New York’s Greenway, alongside the multitude of spandex-clad cyclists. Here, there is no spandex in sight to make you feel the need to ride fast. Everyone just glides gently along with grocery-filled baskets.
So until I learn to slow down, I am keeping a pitcher of something cold and a tray of ice cubes ready in the fridge. Today I cooked down a pound of black cherries, added some lemon juice and sugar, infused the liquid with a bit of star anise, and mixed in some strong black tea. The star anise adds just a touch of unexpected spice to the fruity tea. This batch should hopefully last a few days.
The hardest part is not snacking on the cherries before you start making the tea.
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Other summer coolers:
Thai Lemongrass & Ginger Iced Tea
Coconut and Lime Lassi, Mango and Cardamom Lassi
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Black Cherry Iced Tea
Adapted from Food & Wine
- 2 quarts water
- 1 pound fresh black cherries, rinsed and pitted
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 whole star anise
- 5 bags black tea, steeped in 2 cups water
- Mint sprigs for garnish
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and star anise. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cherries are almost falling apart. Turn off the heat, mix in the black tea, and let stand for 1 hour to cool.
- Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve, mashing the cherries with a wooden spoon to extract more liquid. Discard the solids. Transfer the liquid to a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve, such as after a long hot summer bike ride.
This sounds glorious.
Is there anything that Carrefour doesn’t sell?
They sell this powdered thing in Middle Eastern grocery stores here called sour cherry tea. I’m obsessed with the idea of it but haven’t got around to buying it yet. This looks even better.
Looks refreshing….I like a sip of that!
That tea sounds wonderful!
wow – great great mix of flavors! is the star anise pretty strong in the tea?
Jaden – The star anise isn’t too strong. I just used whole ones while simmering the cherries, and you can always try it with one clove first to see how you like it. Especially with a few ice cubes in the drink, the tea has just has a hint of spice.
Looks lovely! one to try for sure – such a shame cherries are so expensive in London.
Yum! I was obsessed with blackberry iced tea for a long time, but now I should really try black cherry! Sounds magnificent.
for a photograph to be refreshing, but there you go.
what’s up with the amazing-looking drinks these past couple posts??? i’m so thirsty now but it’s only because that drink looks so quenching and delicious.
Becky – I blame the heat. The hotter and more unbearable it gets, the more inclined I am to use my last few brain cells on drinks instead of wok-cookery.
Have you tried this with other soft fruit? As Lizzie said – cherries are so expensive in the UK.
If you were to use other fruits would you recommend same quantities? Suppose it’s a matter of trial & error really.
Let us all know if any of the experiments are successful!
Lizzie and digger247 – I would suggest blackberries or plums. Haven’t tried either yet in the tea, but those are other fruits that would go well with the star anise, tea, lemon flavor.
Although I haven’t tried the T u mention but it should be nice to drink.
Now a days I make lemon tea with some balck piper and cinnamon. Its also very nice and refreshing. U can drink hot as well as cold.
do you have to steep the tea in cold or got water?
looking forward to making this!
*hot
Hot. Cold water does a bad job of extracting flavors.
Maybe add liche and rum? Michael Adkinson
this looks great, so do you other recipes.
I love it. My wife like to make fennel iced tea. We’ll try this too.
how many does this serve?
It makes about 2 quarts, so 8 cups.