Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea Granita

There comes a time when not only the weather changes, but the temperature of our preferred beverages does as well. Although I stick to my hot coffee all year long, some of you make the switch and add some ice cubes (or grab some of Chilmark Coffee's Cold Brew!). Other swap out the steaming up of tea for iced tea, easing the pain of the sweat dribbling down your back on a hot summer day.

This recipe is a simple one, and one that requires no use of heat. Granitas are an easy way to create a refresher for the kids during the middle of the day or elevated to fine dining and served at dinner parties between courses to cleanse the palate. You can use your favoite kind of tea, but I do recommend you use whole, loose tea leaves and not the tea bags which are regularly filled with just powdered nonsense.

For this granita, I used Teamotions Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea, "with empowering jiaogulan blended with fragrant jasmine green tea and tropical passionfruit." I've been a fan of Teamotions for a while now, not only for their delicious loose leaf teas, but because of their concept that links emotions to the ritual of tea drinking. It's refreshing and slightly floral, making it the perfect summer tea!

Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea Granita

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of loose tea
1 pint of water (16 ounces)
1/4 cup tea simple syrup (explained in method underneath)

Method

1. Pour cool water over tea leaves and steep overnight in fridge.
2. Next morning, strain tea and reserve 1/4 cup in a small saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and dissolve over high heat. Simmer until all sugar is dissolved. 
3. Add the simple syrup to the strained tea and place in shallow dish. Place dish in freezer and scrape ice crystals every 30-45 minutes, depending on your freezer. 
4. Serve along side a cookie or sprinkle some edible petals over it. 
5. Enjoy! 

Orginally posted on Cooking with Books "Beat the Heat - Teamotions Granita"