I haven’t had it in a while, but I used to love having a drink using St. Germaine’s elderflower liqueur. It was the perfect mixture of sweet and bubbly without being cloying. And recently, I had a craving for it. BUT, I’m still on the wagon, so I decided iced tea would be the perfect way to enjoy some of that sweet flavoring!
Rather than use St. Germain’s, I decided to make elderflower syrup using dried elderflowers. It is super easy to do. Basically, you make a simple syrup by boiling water and dissolving sugar in is. Then, just pour the hot sugar water over the dried elderflower and some sliced lemon and let it sit in a cool, dark spot overnight (think your pantry)… don’t forget about it though! It will get moldy if it sits unrefrigerated for too long!
Once the liquid turns into a deep golden brown, it’s ready to go. I lined a small colander with a couple layers of cheesecloth to ensure none of the specs of dried elderflower could get through. Then, I filtered the syrup, using the back of a spoon to squeeze out any excess liquid from the flowers. I did this in a couple of turns, dumping flowers and lemons into the garbage when the colander got full… but only after squeezing out excess liquid!
From there, I made the tea! I boiled a couple of cups of water and dissolved honey in it before adding six green tea bags to it. If you prefer a different kind of tea, by all means experiment! I think next time, I’ll try oolong tea! Also, if you don’t want to add more sweetener to it, skip the honey step! But I find the elderflower syrup very light and subtle that a little extra sweetener hit the spot for me. Then, I added the syrup, two cups of green tea, and more water with lemon slices to a large pitcher.
And that’s it! A super easy way to make a light, floral honey green iced tea. It is such a nice change of pace, and a great drink to have as the weather continues to heat up!
Enjoy!
Elderflower Honey Green Iced Tea
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 53 minute
- Yield: 1 pitcher
- Category: Drinks
Ingredients
Elderflower Syrup
1½ cups water
1 cup sugar
½ lemon sliced
1 cup dried elderflowers
Green Iced Tea
6 cups water ~ divided
6 bags green tea
¼ cup honey
1 lemon sliced
Instructions
Make the Elderflower Syrup
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat. In a mason jar, add the dried elderflower and lemon slices. Pour the hot water over the top and seal the top. Let sit in a cool spot overnight.
Take a small colander and line it with two to four layers of cheesecloth. Slowly pour the syrup through the colander, using the back of a spoon to squeeze the syrup through the discarded elderflowers (NOTE: empty the colander in the trash as needed as you filter the syrup).
Make the Green Iced Tea
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Add the honey and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add 6 bags of green tea to the pot. Let sit for about 5 minutes and the carefully remove and squeeze the excess liquid from the tea bags. Discard.
In a large pitcher, add ¼ cup of the elderflower syrup, or more to taste. Add in the sliced lemon, the four remaining cups of water and the two cups of green tea. Fill the pitcher with ice and stir to combine.
Serve! Enjoy!
Keywords: elderflower syrup, how to make elderflower syrup, iced tea, green iced tea, elderflower iced tea, elderflower green iced tea, honey iced tea, honey green iced tea
