Eight glasses of water a day is the recommended amount. Some might strive to reach that goal but the fact is that most people aren’t drinking enough water in a day. If I have a pitcher of healthy flavored water on hand, it is proven that I am more likely to reach that 8 glass requirement. My boyfriend calls it the ‘spa water.’ I wasn’t sure whether to label this recipe as flavored water, so I settled on iced tea since the ingredients are left to steep, allowing the flavors to meld together.
When I feel stuck in a rut about drinking the same thing day in and day out, I try to put together new flavors to make things more interesting. Usually I use cucumbers and mint, but wanted to try basil in a drink. I wasn’t disappointed. And the ginger isn’t overpowering; rather it is a subtle flavor. Honey lends a natural sweetness, and can be adjusted to your taste preferences. The iced tea keeps well in the refrigerator, but any batches that I make don’t last more than two days.
This tea would also be suitable for when you are entertaining guests. Instead of having regular water around, this iced tea offers a fancier option that doesn’t take long to prepare. It adds something special without a lot of extra work. You can easily impress your guests, and yourself, with this flavorful and refreshing drink.
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 5 ginger coins
- 3/4 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
- 3 tbsp honey
- 9 cups boiling water
Directions
- Cut the lemons in half and juice the lemons into a large pitcher, catching any seeds. Add the lemon halves into the pitcher, along with the ginger coins and basil. Pour boiling water into the pitcher and stir in the honey. Allow to steep until cool, and then remove the ginger, basil, and lemon halves. Serve with ice.
What are ginger coins? Thanks
Just a fancy way of saying sliced fresh ginger!
Just wondering if you poured the boiling water into a glass pitcher – I did and it shattered. Was going to try it again but just add the ingredients to the pot of boiling water and let cool in there because this looks yummy.
Oh no! I poured the water into the pitcher soon after I turned off the heat, but it is a thick pitcher. Adding the ingredients into the pot with the boiling water would work just as well!
It sounds like maybe your pitcher was too cold — this has happened to me before even if my AC has been set too low for too long. Maybe it was kept in a cool cabinet, or maybe your lemons had been refrigerated? It’s usually contrasting temperatures that cause glass to shatter!
I was told and have done it, put a knife or spoon in mason jars when pouring hot liquid into them.
I’ll try it without the honey, as I try to avoid the sweet stuff.
How was it? I want to try the same but don’t sant to waste my ingredients.
you could try agave nectar. it doesn’t raise blood sugar level much, yet it is still sweet. i use it all the time for my ma; she’s a borderline diabetic.
I was wondering how many times can you drink this daily? Also I love this drink!!!! So yummy and I usually don’t like anything like this or soda. Love how easy and delicious it is.
Hi! This sounds delightful, but was wondering if you peeled the ginger before slicing and how thick the slices should be??
Hey SUSAN–no one has answered your question so Ill try. You should always peel ginger before slicing. The slices dont need to be thick or paper thin either just normal slices like those of a coin width. Raw ginger is very very strong and powerful–it’ll work.
hey Kim, since you are not consuming the ginger slices here peeling is totally unnecessary. the only reason we peel ginger in the first place is because of the unpleasant papery feel of it in our mouth.
Ur recipe for lemon,ginger n basil is a must try for me, butcould u also tell us about the cucumber n mint drink. What else do u put in it?
Thx so much
I just tried this tea, it is so delicious! I will probably devour the entire pitcher tonight!
Wonder if you could freeze this (to make ice cubes) and then add to your water. It would last longer.
Can you put all of the ingredients in a mesh tea ball to seep? Do you need fresh ginger and basil or will the dried stuff give you the same result?
I have not tried to make this yet but certainly will.
When pouring any hot liquid into glass containers eg. jugs, glasses and some dishes they will not shatter or crack if you first place a spoon into the container and then pour in the hot liquid.
Also standing a glass container on a cold surface needs a metal spoon placed in it to prevent breakages.
I will certainly will be trying this tea. It sounds easy and delicious.
I love this tea! It’s very refreshing and it’s just the right balance of flavors. I poured the boiling water in a thick, glass Pyrex pitcher with the other ingredients. It’s actually an 8 cup measuring cup so it almost overflowed. But it didn’t crack!