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Lemon balm iced tea is a lemony, spicy, healthy and delicious iced tea made with garden fresh lemon balm, ginger root and lemon and sweetened with honey.
Lemon balm iced tea makes a perfect refreshment on a hot day. On top of that it’s such a great way to get rid of lemon balm when it’s growing like crazy and trying to overtake your garden.
It’s healthy, easy to make, comes together in no time and it’s totally adjustable. You can
- use mint instead of lemon balm
- leave out ginger root
- use maple syrup or agave instead of honey to make your iced tea vegan
- sweeten your iced tea based on your liking.
I always let my lemon balm and ginger tea steep for at least 1 hour and let it refrigerate overnight. This makes the iced tea very strong, lemony and spicy.
Health benefits of lemon balm and ginger root
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) also known as Cure All, Sweet Balm, Sweet Mary, Melissa, Honey Plant is a herb in the mint family. For more 2,000 years it has been used in Europe and Middle East as a natural remedy to relieve stress, reduce anxiety and to help digestion.
It’s used in teas, cooking or to make essential oils. Today, extensive studies have indicated that lemon balm can ease insomnia and other sleep disorders, reduces menstrual cramps, treats cold sores and so on.
Ginger root has lots of medicinal properties as well. Tons of studies have shown that it stimulates digestion, regulates blood sugar, reduces nausea and helps fight the flu and common cold, just to name a few.
Ingredients for lemon iced tea with lemon balm and ginger
- 2 handful fresh lemon balm leaves
- 50 g/ 1.8 oz ginger root
- 1.5 liter/ 50.7 fl oz/ 6 cups water boiled
- 1 lemon organic
- 3 tablespoons honey/ agave or maple syrup
- 1 cup ice cubes
- some fresh lemon balm leaves for garnish
How to make lemon balm and ginger iced tea
Begin by boiling the water. In the meantime peel fresh ginger root and mince it. then gently rinse lemon balm leaves.
Place minced fresh ginger, lemon balm leaves and honey in a teapot or pot and pour over boiled water.
Cover and let steep for 1 hour.
Then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Wash the lemon and thinly slice it. Rinse the few fresh lemon balm leaves for garnish.
Transfer the tea to a glass container, leaving ginger and lemon balm leaves which have settled at the bottom of the tea pot behind.
Add thinly sliced lemon and fresh lemon balm leaves. Let steep for 30 minutes. Shortly before serving add ice cubes and enjoy!
Love this recipe? Try my Rooibos Iced Tea recipe, too.
Lemon Balm Iced Tea
Equipment
- Tea pot or pot
- Glass jar or serving pitcher
Ingredients
- 2 handful fresh lemon balm leaves
- 50 g/ 1.8 oz ginger root
- 1,5 liter/ 50.7 fl oz/ 6 cups water boiled
- 1 lemon organic
- 3 tablespoons honey/ agave or maple syrup
- 1 cup ice cubes
- some fresh lemon balm leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Peel ginger root and finely chop it. Then gently rinse lemon balm leaves.
- Place minced ginger root, rinsed lemon balm, honey in a heat proof bowl or tea pot and pour over boiled water. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.
- Once the tea has cooled, put it in the fridge and let chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. 30 minutes before serving, transfer the tea to a glass container or serving pitcher, leaving ginger root and lemon balm leaves that have settled at the bottom of the tea pot behind .
- Add fresh lemon balm leaves and thinly sliced lemon. Let steep once again for about 20 minutes. Add ice cubes and serve.
Notes
- If you want more iced tea, just add boiled water to lemon balm leaves and ginger root that you’ve used previously. Let sit for sometime, before adding it to your iced tea. You can use the used lemon balm and ginger for up to 3 times.
Did you make this fresh lemon balm iced tea recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a comment and add rating to it.
HarleeDayM
Saturday 8th of May 2021
I have been making this for years since I’ve had abundance’s of lemon balm in my area since I was a child. Powdered ginger works if you don’t have fresh root and lemon juice can be substituted in a pinch for the fresh lemons. I suffer from chronic abdominal and digestive pain for the last 10 years and this always seems to help! Thank you Ester for getting this recipe out there!