Raspberry Vanilla Iced Tea Refreshing Summer Drink

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 4 bags black tea (or 4 teaspoons loose leaf black tea)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (plus extra for garnish)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 quarter cup honey or maple syrup (adjust to taste)
• as needed cubes ice
• as needed leaves fresh mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
2. Once boiling, remove the saucepan from heat and add the black tea bags. Allow the tea to steep for 5-7 minutes, depending on your preferred strength.
3. While the tea is steeping, in a blender, combine the fresh raspberries and honey (or maple syrup). Blend until smooth.
4. Strain the raspberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl to remove the seeds, pressing down with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the seeds.
5. After the tea has steeped, remove the tea bags and stir in the vanilla extract.
6. Let the tea cool for a bit, then combine the strained raspberry juice with the tea in a pitcher. Stir well to mix.
7. Refrigerate the raspberry vanilla tea for at least 1 hour to chill.
8. To serve, fill glasses with ice cubes and pour the chilled tea over the ice.
9. Garnish with whole raspberries and fresh mint leaves.