I’m a big fan of iced tea, and it’s a regular around here. The classic plain black tea is always good, but I do like herbal teas and fruit and herb infusions too. But one thing I have been curious about is iced Earl Grey. I love a cup of hot Earl Grey tea with honey and cream, but I have never had it cold. That kind of surprised me, because I’m always up for trying new things. Well, this Iced Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea sounds like something that’s right up my alley. Earl Grey tea, honey, cream, and blackberries—one of my favorite foods. I have to give this recipe a try!
Spotlight this Iced Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea with its rich, plum color and sweet, bright flavor as a beautiful addition to your summer table.
The Ingredients
I had a couple of bags of Earl Grey and a little honey in my pantry, but not enough for this recipe. That meant I had to pick up more of both plus some fresh blackberries. Never a problem at my usual grocery store. By the way, this recipe does give the option of using sugar, but I just love honey with Earl Grey.
I don’t remember what I made, but I had heavy cream and half-and-half in the refrigerator, so I was set there. I even busted out the proper ice cube trays instead of using ice from the automatic maker. Fancy!
The Process
This Iced Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea was so easy to make and had a clever way to keep the tea chilled. Here’s how it went:
- 6 minutes to prep
- 5 minutes to steep
- 4 minutes to finish
- 15 minutes total
The first step was to place half the blackberries onto a sheet pan and freeze them. I let mine freeze overnight. Why? They replace ice cubes, keeping the tea cold without watering it down. Genius!
I made the tea the next afternoon. I started off by heating the water in a saucepan. While that was happening, I used a potato masher to crush the remaining blackberries with the honey. Then I added the teabags and hot water and allowed the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
Once it was ready, I poured the mixture over an ice-filled pitcher using a mesh strainer to remove the blackberry pulp. That’s it. The tea was ready to serve up in a tall glass over the frozen blackberries with a bit of cream.
I tried it with heavy whipping cream and half-and-half since I had both in hand. The heavy cream tended to float at the top while the half-and-half diffused throughout the tea. I preferred the latter, even if I did get a little heavy-handed with it for the photos. But that is another part of this recipe I liked—it gives the option of adding as much or as little cream as you like. It’s even delicious without!
