This delicious drink refreshes and satisfies as a week-day (or weekend)  mocktail. The flavorful mix of cloves, star anise, and pink peppercorns is the perfect flavorful combination for a nonalcoholic beverage.

• 8 whole star anise
• 2 Tbsp whole pink peppercorns, plus additional for garnish
• 1 Tbsp whole cloves
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup fresh thyme sprigs, plus 8 additional sprigs for garnish
• 4 cups chilled club soda

Toast anise, 2 Tbsp peppercorns, and cloves in a small skillet over medium-high heat until aromatic, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Wrap spices in a triple layer of cheese cloth; tie shut. Pound with a rolling pin to crush spices lightly. Bring 3 cups water and sugar to boil in medium saucepan. Add spices in cheesecloth. Remove from heat; cover and steep 15 minutes. Add ½ cup thyme sprigs, cover and steep 10 minutes longer. Strain syrup into a medium bowl and chill until cold. (can be made 1 week ahead) Cover and keep refrigerated.

Fill 8 tall glasses with ice. Divide syrup among glasses. Add ½ cup soda to each glass. Garnish with thyme sprigs and peppercorns.

Makes 8

Source: Bon Appetit, February 2010

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For breakfast, afternoon pick-me-up, or a post-workout treat, this smoothie recipe can be personalized according your tastes – add raspberries, blackberries, or whichever fruit you choose.

• 1 cup pineapple chunks, with juice
• 1 ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, whole
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup cranberries

Place all ingredients in container in order listed and secure the lid of the blender. Add water (or almond milk) if needed, for consistency.

Blend until smooth.

Serves: Three 1-cup servings

Source: Create, a cookbook for the Vita-Mix Professional Series

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• 1 cup coconut milk (or other milk)
• 3/4 to 1 cup of small berries; 5-10 strawberries
• 1 large frozen banana, cut in half
• 3/4 cup of oats
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp honey

Place all ingredients into blender in order listed, blend until smooth. Add water or more milk as needed for consistency.

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It may be nearing the end of National Iced Tea Month (June), but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to seek out great ways to brew and enjoy delicious iced tea. Whether you’re at the pool and want to cool down with an ice-cold glass of tea, or you’re looking for a refreshing new twist to your summer alcoholic beverages, tea is the perfect complement to summer.

Here are a few tips on how best to brew iced tea — along with some tasty recipes to try.

Cold Brew

Tip: Because a cold brewing method results in a smoother, more aromatic tea, we suggest floral or fruit-forward teas.

Mix the loose tea leaves with cold filtered water. Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of tea for every quart of water.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to overnight.

Strain the tea through a fine mesh strainer and serve chilled or pour over ice

Tip: When sweetening cold breed tea choose something other than granulated sugar because it doesn’t dissolve. Instead, try agave, maple syrup, or a simple syrup.

Hot Brew

If you choose to brew your tea using hot water, it is recommended you heat the water just below boiling temperature (190 °F). Pour the water over two tea bags (or comparable loose leaf tea) and let steep for five minutes. Once steeped, use a tea (or fine mesh)strainer to separate bags/leaves from water. Do not over-steep!

Next, pour one cup of cold water into the concentrated tea in order to dilute it.

Serve it over ice.

Sun Brew

For sun tea fanatics, use the same tea to water ratio as for cold brew tea.

Begin by dousing the tea leaves or bag in boiling water, just to wet and sterilize (to ensure bacteria isn’t introduced to the brew when left outside)

Set the container in the sun for 6 hours, then serve over ice.

Summer Iced Tea Brews

recipes and photos provided by Numi Tea

Soda Swap: Balance Tea Spritzer

Earl Grey Wine Spritzer

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A guest post from Andrea Piccolo, Brand Manager, Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company Inc.

Families are busy. But it’s “good busy.” Between making mud pies and real pies, coloring books and washing away scribbles on the wall, our homes are full of activities. To be ready to take on a full day, many of us look forward to our morning coffee ritual. For many of us, it’s important to have coffee to wake us up and get us moving.

Coffee is also part of our lifestyle. We socialize over coffee. We meet our PTA groups over coffee. We have special mugs so we can take it with us on the go. But what happens in the midst of our busy days when you need a little warm-up in the afternoon or evening? Or maybe a little cold-brew cool-down? If you have coffee, then you know you won’t sleep. Or even worse, that caffeine will wake you up in the night. If it’s coffee you crave, just not the caffeine latter in the day, it’s time to take another look at decaf!

Taking a New Look at Decaf

Decaf coffee has come a long way since the Sanka days. Unfortunately, some people still think that decaf coffee tastes stale or odd, like it surely did back then. However, many things have changed since then and even in the past few years there have big improvements in quality. So if you haven’t tried decaffeinated coffee in a while, now is a great time to give it a second chance. But before you do, it’s important to note that not all decaf is created equal.

A couple things to know: there are several different decaffeination processes used to remove caffeine and there also are vast differences in the quality and type of coffee beans used. It pays to do your homework, and to understand the differences, because these can have remarkable effects on the taste and quality of your coffee.

There are also some common misconceptions surrounding decaffeinated coffee, which might be influencing your perception of this once inferior drink.

Myth 1 – Decaf contains harsh or harmful chemicals. Methylene Chloride and Ethyl Acetate (sometime referred to as sugar cane) are the two chemical methods used to remove caffeine. This is where decaf gets some of its bad rep. Poor quality coffee, chemical caffeine removal, overall unhappy coffee experience. But there are better options! 

Swiss Water® Process is 100% chemical-free. Water (from the Coast Mountains of British Colombia), coffee, time, and temperature, are the only elements Swiss Water® uses to remove caffeine. Check out their video here for how they bring in coffee from all over the world to their facility and then ship it out without caffeine to coffee roasters. From there it’s roasted and then ready to be served. It’s worth asking your barista or look on the coffee bag’s label to find out how it was decaffeinated.

Myth 2 – Decaf tastes funny. Their chemical free process allows Swiss Water® Decaf to preserve the beans’ subtle and distinct origin and flavor characteristics; therefore leaving you with great tasting coffee. No chemicals used also means that Swiss Water® selects high quality coffee beans. Good beans in – great tasting coffee out!

Myth 3 – Coffee’s health benefits come from caffeine. Most health benefits derived from coffee come from the antioxidants effect of the polyphenols contained within the coffee, regardless of whether there is caffeine in it or not. In fact, some of the health benefits are even stronger when the caffeine has been removed.

Myth 4 – Even decaf contains a significant amount of caffeine. Coffee decaffeinated with Swiss Water® Process is actually 99.9 percent caffeine free – which is certainly not enough residual caffeine to keep you up at night. Families have busy days. When the day is winding down and sleep is finally on the horizon, it’s important not to let unintended caffeine keep us up, or wake is up unnecessarily.

Now, the real test is to go and enjoy more coffee! Set off to your favorite café or friend’s living room. Try going late in the afternoon or evening, and order a cup of really good coffee – one that happens to be decaf and amazing! We know the coffee lover in you will be pleasantly surprised.

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Packed with goodness, this green smoothie is a filling breakfast, snack, or post-workout refresher.

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 kiwi
• 1 pear
• 1 avocado
• 2 big handfuls of fresh spinach
• 2 cups water

Take the skin off the bananas, peel kiwi, cut ends of the pear, cut the avocado in half, remove pit and scoop out flesh.

Add to the blender with the spinach and water. Blend until smooth.

Add a bit of water if the smoothie is too thick — it will depend on the size of the fruit you use.

Serves: 2

Source: Cook with Owls

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Refreshing mango and orange are combined with the goodness of coconut water and the smooth rich flavor of Greek yogurt – how can you deny this for breakfast, as a pick-me-up in the afternoon, or simply as a treat?

• 1 cup cold, pure coconut water
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 cup frozen or fresh mango chunks
• 3 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 cups ice

Blend coconut water, yogurt, mango, orange juice concentrate and ice in a blender until smooth.

Serves: 2

Source: www.eatingwell.com

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This shrub is a vinegar-based syrup that is sweetened with fruit and sugar or honey. It is often used as a base for a cocktail, but is also delicious as a non-alcoholic drink, mixed with soda or carbonated water.

Also known as drinking vinegar, the shrub was popular during colonial times, as it was used as a means of preserving fruit long past it’s picking.

Tart and sweet at the same time, a shrub quenches thirst, and is actually meant to stimulate the appetite. The acidity of the shrub makes it ideal as an aperitif, or even if you want to use it instead of bitters in your favorite cocktail. However you enjoy it, this versatile drink is easily made and can be enjoyed all year round

You can blend using a fruity vinegar, such as apple cider or wine vinegar and then add some fresh herbs to complement the fruit. The flavor combinations are unending, just choose fruit that is at the peak of season.

Strawberry, Peppercorn and Balsamic Shrub

• 2 cups hulled and quartered washed strawberries
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 10 cracked peppercorns
• ¾ cups balsamic vinegar
• ¾ cups apple cider vinegar.

Combine the strawberries, sugar and peppercorns in a bowl. Mix to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing down the strawberries to extract all the juice. Discard the strawberries. Scrape any remaining sugar into the syrup. Whisk the vinegars into the syrup Pour the syrup into a clean glass. Jar and refrigerate indefinitely. The sharpness will mellow with time.

 To serve: Combine 1 part shrub and 2 to 3 parts water or sparkling water in a glass and squeeze of lime.

For cocktails: Blend 1 part shrub to 1 part tequila to 2 parts sparkling water with a good squeeze of lime

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Looking for a festive new drink to wow your guests at this year’s New Year Eve party? Surprise them with scrumptious ice cream-based Vanilla Mocha Latte Shooters. Infused with Nielsen-Massey’s fine extracts and garnished with vanilla sugar this delicious drink packs a flavorful and festive punch in a single shot glass for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve party.

• ½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Chocolate Extract
• ½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Coffee Extract
• ½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Tahitian Pure Vanilla Extract
• ½ cup chilled vodka
• 2 tablespoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar (for rimming glasses)
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 3 cups firmly packed vanilla ice cream (about 6 large scoops)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine chocolate, coffee and vanilla extracts and vodka; cover and place in freezer until chilled.

In a small shallow bowl, add just enough water to moisten glass rims. In an additional small shallow bowl, add vanilla sugar. Dip each shooter glass rim into water and then into sugar; set aside.

Add cream and ice cream to an electric blender container, cover and blend on high, about 10 seconds. Add chilled vodka-mixture, cover and blend until smooth. Pour milkshake mixture into a piping bag or a large glass measuring cup and carefully fill 8 (2.5-ounce) glasses. Serve.

Once chilled, the unique vodka and extract mixture is combined with heavy cream and ice cream for milkshake-like body and texture. To serve, shot glasses are rimmed with Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar, which is a flavorful blend of gourmet baker’s sugar and the most exquisite vanilla. Divide the milkshake mixture among eight shot glasses, and you have perfect potables to ring in the New Year.

For more delicious recipes using Nielsen-Massey extracts, visit the company website.

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When the sun is hot and you’re looking for something refreshing and to give you a little pick-me-up, try this iced coffee drink, served in a tall glass.

• 1 cup freshly brewed espresso, or 1 small pot coffee made in a French press
• 2% milk
• ½ tsp simple syrup, or honey
• 3 ice cubes

Put the coffee in a porcelain pitcher in the refrigerator until well chilled.

Fill a tumbler halfway with milk. Add the simple syrup and stir well. Add the ice and fill the glass with coffee; stir well.

Source: Coming Home, A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions, by Rosanna Bowles.

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