Hibiscus Raspberry Lemonade Iced Tea

The aroma of hibiscus and the rich deep reds with raspberry, lime and black tea...served chilled. Make sure you have some fresh raspberries to serve with. A mint leaf always does the trick with presentation.

As the nights become longer and days shorter....am kind of sad that summer is almost over. I cannot imagine it getting dark at 4 pm...oh well, it's still August and we still have beautiful autumn before I start the rant about dark, gloomy winter afternoons.

It has been a couple of weeks since I have really posted a recipe...Just been busy with family and a couple of projects. I'm having a hard time falling into a routine. It's been two weeks since teen is back in school and I thought that would help....ummm! not really. There is so much on my to-do list and all I'm doing is procrastinating. I just dislike it when I'm so unproductive, it just brings out the worst in me....like a downward spiral ...I keep thinking about all the time I have wasted and end up wasting more time.

Teen loves iced-tea... challenged me to make one that she will love. Teenagers are critical people.... to say the least, at-least mine is. And because she can cook, she will give a detail feedback on how it could have been done better (sometimes you don't need a feedback lol!) . I incorporated all her feedback ....and I do have to admit that adding more hibiscus, some lime juice...did make it delicious.

I bought these gorgeous dried hibiscus from this cute spice store in down-town Geneva, since both teen and her dad are not crazy about spending three hours in a spice store, I hang out alone....Just love walking around the quant town. I will be definitely going there with my camera soon...will share pictures. Sometimes you just need that me-time and for me it is shopping at a spice or antique store...

Hibiscus Raspberry Lemonade Iced Tea 

Ingredients

• 6 cups hot water
• 5 tbsp dried hibiscus petals
• bunch of fresh raspberries
• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 5 mint leaves
• 2 tsp black tea 
• 12tbsp sugar 

Takes 15 min,
serves 6.

Instructions

1. Heat water and make black tea. 
2. Strain the tea and add the hibiscus petals and sugar,  let it seep till cool. Chill and strain. 
3. Crush the raspberries a bit, add it to strained tea-hibiscus water, add lime juice. 
4. Served chilled with ice and a mint leaf