Rhubarb Iced Tea

Rhubarb Iced Tea

When it gets hot, I make a fancy ice-cold can of iced tea. Orange iced tea, orange, and lemon iced tea, or lime rose iced tea with fresh raspberries all taste delicious and I exchange them on a regular basis.

But now I've discovered a new iced tea: rhubarb ice tea. With the refreshing rhubarb, some white tea, and honey it becomes a delicious drink.

And a beautiful color, that immediately make me fell in love with it. I always cut some lemon slices and pick some mint from the herb garden and add it to the iced tea. For even a better summer effect.

Rhubarb a spring vegetable

It is a pity that you can only buy rhubarb for such a short time. After the longest day (June 21st), you can't cut any stems anymore from the plant. Then the plant is at rest to build up strength for the new season. I always freeze it, so that I can still make this ice tea. It's a gorgeous thing to grow a rhubarb plant in your garden because you have very little maintenance and lots of revenue!

What do you need for Iced Tea with Rhubarb and Honey

For the preparation of this Rhubarb Iced Tea you need the following ingredients (you can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog):

• Rhubarb - Use the stems and not the leaves (they contain too high a concentration of oxalic acid which is poisonous). Rhubarb sold in the supermarket has nice red stems and those stems give a very nice red color to the juice when cooked (if you don't peel them).
• White tea - white tea is sweeter and less bitter than black tea and less pronounced compared to rooibos tea. If you want to use a different type of tea, use 1 teabag to get the same effect.
• Honey - The sweetener in the tea. Only add the honey when the rhubarb ice tea has cooled down, because the same amount of sweet tastes different (stronger) in a hot tea than in cold iced tea.
• Vanilla extract - Bringing the tea to a boil causes the alcohol in the vanilla extract to evaporate. If you don't want to use vanilla extract, replace it with a vanilla pod. Half the pod and scrape out the seeds, add the vanilla seed to the drink and add the pod as well. Let that soak for 1 hour.

How do you make Rhubarb Ice Tea

A recipe with extensive steps, the right amount of ingredients, and which you can also easily print can be found at the bottom of the blog.

1. Bring 4 ½ cups (1 liter) of water to a boil and turn off the heat. Let 2 tea bags steep for 5 minutes. Remove the bags (do not squeeze the bags, because the squeezing will release bitter substances into the tea).
2. Wash the rhubarb and cut it into pieces. Add the rhubarb and vanilla extract to the tea. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Place a sieve on the iced tea pitcher and pour the iced tea over the strainer. Drain well.
4. Let cool and then season with honey. The amount sweetener you need depends on when the rhubarb was harvested. Rhubarb harvested early is less acidic than rhubarb harvested around June. You need more honey for that. Add lemon slices and mint, if desired. Just before serving, put ice in the pitcher (not before, otherwise the iced tea will thin out too much).