Cooling Summer Beverages (Family Friendly)

LaurieLovesLearning

We are getting a taste of hot summer temperatures throughout this week. This got me to thinking about what are your favorite family friendly herbal cooling drinks.

Right now, we are making some hibiscus tea combined with our electrolyte recipe. If we had organic lemons at the ready, we would be using those too.

What have you used as a cooling drink when you get hot in the summertime? Do you have recipes with mint or something else? It would be nice to have variety!

Just a note, no alcoholic recipes in this thread, please. Thanks!

JodieDownUnder

@LaurieLovesLearning last summer, I had lots of lemon balm and mint. I would pick a good handful of each, wash, chop up, add to a 1.5lt jar and top with cold water. Steep overnight in fridge. Strain and drink in 24hrs. Sometimes I’d add some honey, sometimes not. Sometimes add sliced ginger. I’ve also found nettle tea quite refreshing hot or cold, seems to give me a bit of a lift.

Torey

I like shrubs. Fruit soaked in ACV, then strained and honey added. Then this base can have plain water, sparking water or club soda added.

Raspberry is one of our favourites and I need to get some started today as we just ran out of the last batch. I might put strawberries in this batch, too.

Actually, I might do this recipe from Rosalee as I have some dried dandelion root.

https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/shrub-recipe/

I've never made this one before but yesterday when I was out for Spruce tips, I found so many wild violets. So this one might get made this year if I can get back out to get the violets before the rains come.

https://www.aromaculture.com/blog/violet-flower-shrub

Another one that has become a new favourite in our house is the Apple Syrup from Wild Remedies. It also makes a great base for beverages. Again with your choice of water or bubbles added.

Linda Bittle

I'm a big lemonade drinker in the summer. And sweet tea. Those shrub recipes look interesting, and I am going to have to try some of them.

Torey

This is another shrub recipe that I found awhile ago but haven't tried yet. Looks like it would be cooling as well as heart healthy.

https://www.aromaculture.com/blog/herbal-heart-tonic-shrub

This one is for those who like the bitter taste of beer without the side effects. Good for your digestion.

https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/hop-water/

annbeck62

Watermelon juice. Summer in a glass :)

LaurieLovesLearning

@annbeck62 Watermelon (and homemade watermelon popsicles). 😍😋 My favorite! I could live off of watermelon all summer. Unfortunately, there aren't any good ones that have shown up in stores yet.

Texas watermelons & seeded all the way! Seedless just lack everything a watermelon should be.

It was hot today, but it will be up to 35°C/95°F plus tomorrow. It makes me wonder what it will be like come July/August.

Watermelon would certainly help.

annbeck62

@LaurieLovesLearning they haven't showed up here yet either. But any day now.....😀

JodieDownUnder

@torey thanks for the shrub recipes. I’m going to give the violet and blueberry and the hops a crack this weekend. I have all the ingredients, just noticed today the native violet flowers in our lawn popping up.

VermontCathy

I make spruce iced tea. You clip a fresh green spruce branch, cut it into shorter pieces that will fit in an iced tea pitcher, and pour hot water into the pitcher. Let it steep for a while while staying hot, then add ice cubes and keep it in the refrigerator.

You can use other types of conifer tree, but I find spruce to have the best flavor.

blevinandwomba

My favorite drink of the summer is a mix of watermelon juice and kombucha, with or without sparkling water added. I don't do a second ferment, just mix together and serve ice cold.

I've been experimenting with my mints a lot lately- if I come up with a particularly good combo, I'll post it.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

@torey The links you have posted above for the shrub recipes from Aromaculture are not working.

I don't suppose you could repost them? As we are working outside more and the weather is getting warmer I'm trying to get some recipes together before I need them so I can find them. Because I keep meaning to go and look back at things but there is so much. And I get sidetracked/interrupted then forget to go back after and the thread is not upfront. And if I don't have it in front of my these days I forget about it.😕

Torey

@JennyT Upstate South Carolina The website has been changed. They aren't Aromaculture any more. They are now Floranella. I found the recipe, though.

https://www.floranella.com/recipes/herbal-heart-tonic-shrub-recipe

The other one for Hops Water from LearningHerbs is still working.