Lemonade with a Passion

Rumor has it that Starbucks has a Passion Tea Lemonade drink that many are raving about. I haven't tried it. Yet.

I figure I can make the same thing at home with just a little extra effort. Starting with these:

 
Fresh lemons always make the best lemonade.

While squeezing the juice, I put a pot of water (6 cups to be exact) mixed with one cup of raw sugar on the stove to boil. This makes the syrup for the lemonade. You can always add more sweetener later to your tastes, but I love it tart (!) so this amount works well for me!

Yes, it looks brown - that's the raw sugar (cane sugar, less processed than white refined sugar). Raw sugar has a more complex flavor, much richer than regular table sugar. The color may throw you off when you first begin to cook with it.

First I wash the lemons, like any other raw fruit. You'll see why in a moment. Next I roll each lemon around on the countertop with some slight pressure from my palm to get the juices flowing.
Then comes the juicing. I realize there are easier ways to do this (I even have a little manual juicer), but I didn't mind squeezing  just a few by hand. This recipe used ten small lemons. This will make a little over one cup of pure lemon juice. Mix it with the syrup water, stir, and cool at room temperature for about an hour.

The day before I had made some Tazo Passion Tea and put it in the fridge to chill.

 

Isn't it a lovely color? It's made with hibiscus flowers (and other delightful flavors). The best part is it's caffeine-free! You can find this at any grocery store that sells the Tazo brand.

 

I usually mix 2/3 tea with 1/3 lemonade to make a glassful, adding ice to chill it. This is an awesome, refreshing drink! Not sure what the Starbucks version tastes like, but I love mine!

Oh, you're wondering about my wrap pictured above with my Passion Tea Lemonade? Well, it has an unusual ingredient  - can you guess what it is?

I'll be back next time to share more about this delicious wrap!

p.s. when using fresh lemons, take a few minutes to zest several and freeze the zest - this will come in handy later for those holiday baking recipes!

  

Comments

[Emilee Joy]

That black thing in the wrap looks like a mushroom... Like a Chinese mushroom, but I don't think that's what it is.