Cucumber Mint + Lime Green Tea Refresher

Welcome back to QCK!

So, we’ve successfully survived the heat wave. Yay, us! It definitely wasn’t fun or easy, but it did push me to create more recipes that didn’t involve the stove or oven. It also pushed me to create a couple of fun drink recipes, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and this refresher is my favorite. I spent a lot of time last week looking for refreshing non-alcoholic drinks that weren’t sparkling water or full of sugar. It wasn’t easy. So I just made my own.

I’m not normally a fan of green tea, hot or iced, but it has tons of health benefits so I always feel guilty for not drinking it. I sometimes go on green tea kicks where I choke down a cup or two every day and try to convince myself that I’m enjoying it. I never am.

So anyways, while I wasn’t planning to make a green tea recipe, I ended up having some in the cupboard and I figured it’d be easy enough to give it a try. I’m glad I did! Infusing the tea with a bunch of bright, refreshing flavors, really cut the dirt taste.

It needs zero sugar because mint is in season right now and while it’s cooling, it’s also naturally sweet. The lime adds just a touch of acidity and the cucumber absorbs everything and adds an extra layer of cool, refreshing flavor. It’s everything you want in a summer drink wrapped up into one sugar free, fairly healthy, easy to make recipe.

Also it’s gorgeous.

If you like your tea with a touch of booze…

This also happens to make a wonderful cocktail, you just need to make a few small tweaks.

In my opinion, the drink alone is not sweet enough to pair well with alcohol, the simple fix to this problem is to use the mint in a simple syrup instead. You can do this in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring 1/4 C of filtered water and 1/4 C of granulated sugar to a boil. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Boil for 3-5 minutes and then remove from heat and stir in mint leaves. Let it cool to at least room temperature before removing the mint.

You’ll infuse the tea with cucumber and lime as directed below and then serve with a splash of simple syrup and an ounce or two of vodka. You can also add sparkling water if you’d like.

Substitutions and Add Ons

• Lime can be replaced with lemon.
• Green tea can be store-bought or home brewed.
• You can also add simple syrup, berries, lemon slices.

Recipe

Prep: 5 Min

Rest: 4-12 hrs

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 C Cold Brewed Green Tea, home brewed or store-bought
• 15 Mint Leaves, large stems removed
• 1 Small Cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 Lime, sliced into rings
• Ice, lime wedges, cucumber slices, and fresh mint, for serving.

Directions

1. In a 5 Cup pitcher, combine iced tea, mint leaves, cucumber, and lime.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours up to 12.
3. Serve over ice with lime wedges, cucumber slices, and fresh mint.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you tried it out let me know in the comments. For more recipes check out my homepage and follow along on Instagram. Don’t forget to like, follow, comment and share. Thanks for reading! 

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