After drinking caffeinated teas for most of the day, I find myself craving something refreshing later in the afternoon or to enjoy at sunset. If I were to have more caffeine in the evening, I can say goodbye to a good night's sleep for sure. But that’s okay, because there are plenty of caffeine-free options, aka herbal teas.

I invented this thirst-quenching, insanely flavorful iced herbal infusion/mocktail by total chance. A few weeks ago, I ordered dried hibiscus flowers as an add-on to my farm box delivery. I had not had hibiscus in a long time and was excited to steep it. Hibiscus has a very tart flavor with tropical fruit notes and yields a bright crimson infusion. It’s delightful. On a whim I decided to mix it with other botanicals I had already in my pantry, some beautiful chamomile flowers and lavender. The secret ingredient is mango kombucha, which is added at the end. Now picture yourself on a tropical vacation and that is exactly what the pink drink à la Tea Squirrel tastes like.

You’ll notice that there is no sweetener in my recipe, that’s because kombucha is generally already sweet enough for me. Feel free to sweeten to taste depending on what type of kombucha you use and its sweetness level.

The pink drink à la Tea Squirrel

Yields 1 large drink

Ingredients:
5 gr dried hibiscus flowers
3 gr dried chamomile flowers
1 gr dried lavender buds

Method:
Steep botanicals in 9 fl oz boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain into the serving glass (I used a mason jar).

To serve:
1 ½ cups ice cubes
4 fl oz mango kombucha

Add ice cubes to the mason jar with the steeped tea and stir to cool down the drink. Add kombucha, stir and serve.

Enjoy!

What are your favorite herbal teas to enjoy iced?