iced tea

Cold-Brewed Shiso & Hibiscus Tea Iced Latte /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

so i'm beginning to think that this nesting thing is real.  for most of this pregnancy i've kept baby stuff at a distance.  call me superstitious or whatever, but having baby things around, or calling our babe by his name has sufficiently freaked me out.  but all of a sudden it became real the other day.  not when frank put together his crib, or when he built his changing table, but a deep visceral, radiating energy flowed over me in a blanket of tears the other morning (yes, more tears. always tears!). 

among other things, we organized the crap out of our tiny home,  bought a super neat organization unit for our 1 closet (this thing has made the happiest ever!), purchased some baskets for the bookcase that will be our little guy's dresser, and went through more kitchen cabinets paring down the many bowls i've collected that took up the better part of our kitchen.  and! i'm beginning to think that this nesting thing hasn't only effected me.  frank took it upon himself to clean out the fridge AND pare down some of his collection of odds and ends: tools, random USB wires - all that fun stuff ;) he even gave up a cabinet to make more room, big things are happening at love residence, guys ;)

but tears and organization aside the past couple of days the weather has been nothing short of perfect!  we turned off the AC, open windows and the door to our backyard.  there are cool, dry breezes, and nothing could feel better right now.  it's the perfect weather to chill outside and #DRINKTHESUMMER!  

the beautiful sherrie from with food + love got a lot of us blog folk together to celebrate late summer by drinking it all up! the recipe i'm sharing today is twist on a regular hibiscus tea iced latte that frequents my kitchen, but with some shiso (or perilla) that's been growing in my garden all summer long.  i wanted to steep it in there for an herbal note, cutting some of the tang.  the tea is cold-brewed which means it takes a bit longer (8-12 hours overnight, to be exact), but is so worth it to me.  the flavors are a bit more smooth and full-flavored than when brewed with hot water and then refrigerated.  i love its creamy quality when the milk is added, it's almost like a tea version of a traditional creamsicle.  and speaking of creamsicles, i've also made these into ice cream floats!  just plop a scoop of vanilla ice cream over top and you're good to go! ;)

happy late summer, i hope you're all staying cool! xo

check out all the other #DRINKTHESUMMER recipes:

boozy:

non-boozy:

cold-brewed shiso & hibiscus tea iced latte

if shiso is not available to you, you can leave it out all together.  it's not the easiest herb to substitute, but if you're wanting to add an herbal note i would suggest using 1/2 cup thai basil and 1/2 cup mint in its place.  i steeped the tea with a cinnamon just because i love the taste of it with the hibiscus, but you can leave that out for a less spiced flavor.

| makes roughly 4 servings |

  • 3 hibiscus tea bags
  • 1 cup shiso leaves
  • 4 cups filtered water
  • 2 tablespoons agave, honey, or cane sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
  • ice
  • 2-4 ounces unsweetened almond milk 

method

  1. place the tea bags, shiso, and cinnamon stick (if using) in a large lidded jar.  pour in the water and place the lid on securely.  let the tea brew overnight for at least 8 hours, or up to 12 hours.
  2. strain the tea of the bags, shiso, and cinnamon stick. add 3 tablespoons of the sweetener of choice, taste and add more sweetener if desired.  
  3. serve in an 8-ounce glass over ice with milk. 

enjoy!

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