Green Tea Slush Recipe

This green tea slush is the drink that converted me from a green tea hater to an unabashed green tea fan. I confess I took my first sip with trepidation, anticipating bitterness, greenness, and general unpleasantness. Instead, as the pale elixir met my tongue, my eyebrows shot up in delight and I realized that maybe, just maybe, green tea and I could be friends.

I made this icy drink with Abundance Blend, a lovely green tea delicately flavored with passionfruit and elderflower. On a sweltering hot day, I can't imagine anything that would cool me down quicker or refresh me faster than a tall glass of this iced tea slush topped with a sprig of fresh mint from the garden.
It would also be fantastic with some of our other green teas such as Citrus Mint green tea with lemon, orange, lemongrass, and mint, Easy to Be green tea with blueberry and hibiscus, or Mango Apricot green tea.

How to Make a Green Tea Slush

A good iced tea slush begins with a great iced tea brewed just right. Green tea is one of those tricky teas that can easily slip from good to ghastly if it's allowed to steep too long. The slush can also be a disappointment if the tea isn't strong enough to impart the intensity of flavor needed to stand up to the icy coldness of the drink.
I had success by using a large amount of green tea and brewing them for only three minutes. The generous portion of leaves imparted ample floral and fruit notes of the Abundance Blend while the short brewing time kept the green tea light without a hint of bitterness.
When it comes to iced tea, I like to add fresh herbs to the dried tea blend for a hit of freshness. I have heaps of spearmint in my garden at the moment, so I added a spring of fresh spearmint leaves to the tea while brewing. It is a sprightly and invigorating addition that I found most refreshing. Other great herbs to try would be lemongrass, lime balm, or lemon verbena. A small sprig is plenty for this recipe since you want the fresh herb to support the tea blend and not dominate it.
It's important to sweeten the tea before you freeze it to ensure even sweetening. You can use Deluxe tea sugar, honey sticks, maple or honey dust, or my personal favorite, real maple syrup.
The maple adds warmth to the light and fruity green tea that is simply divine.

Creating a slush from frozen tea is infinitely easier if the tea is frozen in small batches. I like to pour the strained and sweetened tea into ice cube trays or popsicle molds. These smaller portions make it easier for the blender to transform the frozen tea into a beautiful green tea slush without any big chunks to get stuck in your straw or take forever to melt.
Leave the tea to freeze for about one or two hours until it's nearly frozen, then dump the ice blocks into the blender with any remaining liquid and blitz until smooth.
The slush will melt quickly so have your serving glasses ready to be filled. Decorate with a sprig of whatever fresh herb you added, find a shady spot to put your feet up, then enjoy.