Homemade Cool Lime Refresher

Starbucks launched their Refreshers drinks two summers ago. Laced with green coffee extract, the drinks are supposed to give you a mild energy boost as well as provide a cool, lightly sweetened drink – which makes them refreshing in two ways. I have been a big fan of them since they first came out because I definitely find them to be refreshing on a hot day because they aren’t too sweet but have a nice flavor.

This Homemade Cool Lime Refresher is an easy to make version of Starbucks’ Cool Lime Refresher that you can easily make at home. It is a lot like limemade, but with a lot less lime juice and sugar so it has a milder (and, yes, more refreshing) flavor. You need to use fresh lime juice to get the best results, but one lime will allow you to make one or two large drinks, so a little goes a long way in this recipe. It can also be doubled or tripled if you want to serve a crowd.

My homemade drink doesn’t contain any green coffee bean extract, but if you want to add some to yours, you can track it down at many health food stores in the nutritional supplement aisle. Personally, I just have a little regular coffee to pick me up and then the refresher to cool me down.
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Honey Vanilla Tea Latte

Honey is a classic sweetener for tea. I find that I mostly use honey when I have a cold, primarily because tea with honey is what my mom and grandmother would serve me as a kid when I got sick. Honey soothes a sore throat and and hot tea gives you a warm-fuzzy feeling as you sip it. But honey is always delicious in tea and you don’t need to be sick to enjoy it.

This Honey Vanilla Tea Latte is a drink I enjoy on days when I am feeling a little bit under the weather, as well as on days when I simply feel like a great cup of tea. There are plenty of vanilla-infused teas out there that make a great base for this type of drink, and I like to stick with herbal vanilla teas, since I find that the vanilla flavor is a little more distinctive in them. I have been using Tazo Vanilla Rooibus quite a bit, as well as Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Camomile (a very nice tea on its own when you want something soothing), for this drink.

If you don’t have a vanilla-infused tea on hand, a small splash of vanilla extract in your hot tea water will give you the same effect, and add just the right amount of vanilla to perfume to your latte. Add honey to taste – more if you like things sweet, and a little less if you don’t. I usually err on the side of a little extra honey.

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Chocolate Earl Grey Tea Latte

While coffee and chocolate are a common pairing, tea and chocolate are not necessarily put together that often. Coffee does go extremely well with chocolate because the two products share a lot of common notes and flavors. Tea may be milder (generally speaking) and not have flavors that mirror those of chocolate, but many teas can compliment chocolate quite well.

One of these teas, for me, is Earl Grey. The black tea has a strong note of bergamot, which makes the tea strong enough that it comes through even when put into a glass with chocolate. I’ve had earl grey tea-infused chocolates, but this time around I combined chocolate with straight earl grey tea to make a Chocolate Earl Grey Tea Latte.

The tea latte starts with strongly brewed ear grey tea that is topped off with steamed milk, sweetened with chocolate and sugar. I like to use dark chocolate and I always melt it into the milk, as it will incorporate much more smoothly with milk than it will with the tea. You can use hot milk instead of steamed, too. The drink has a great combination of black tea, chocolate and a hint of citrus – and it all works beautifully, even if it’s a combination you wouldn’t ordinarily try!
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Chai Tea Spiced Cider

Apple cider is one of my favorite winter drinks, not just because it’s tasty, but because like its seasonality. It is something that I only drink in the winder and I like it served piping hot. While there are many different brands of apple cider (and ways to make your own spiced cider), you don’t really get the variety of flavor with cider that you get with tea. Combining tea and cider seemed like an easy way to combine two of my favorite drinks into one new one that is perfect for a cold day.

This Chai Tea Spiced Cider is simply chai tea that is steeped in apple cider, as opposed to water. The spicy tea gives a lot of flavor – and a subtle tea note – to the sweet apple juice, and the combination of hot cider and spices is ideal for taking the chill off. It’s good enough that I wouldn’t be surprised to see it pop up on the menu board at a few coffee shops. Using cider that is already spiced will yield an even spicier drink, though plain apple cider works perfectly with the chai tea. You can use any tea brand that you like and loose leaf works just as well as bagged tea. I use loose leaf for a larger batch, but will often use bagged tea for convenience when making just one cup.
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Irish Breakfast Tea Latte

I’ve been on a tea latte kick lately and turning at least half of my cups of tea into latte versions. To do this, all you really need to do is add some sweetener and steamed milk to the drink. The trick to a successful latte is finding the right sweetener. Some teas simply need a little sugar. Others need a little vanilla. For my Irish Breakfast Tea Latte, I like to use honey.

Honey compliments the dark, smooth flavor of Irish breakfast tea quite well (especially Punjana, but this is also true of other types) and adds sweetness without distracting from the tea. Frankly, a good Irish breakfast tea should be able to stand up to a generous amount of milk whether it is sweetened or not, but adding the honey makes for a more satisfying and well rounded drink. And yes, it is perfect with breakfast.

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