Lavender Earl Grey Iced Tea

Last week, we mentioned that the Muses spent Monday together (!!) noshing on delicious rhubarb tarts from Kim Boyce's absolutely amazing book Good to the Grain. What we failed to mention was that our beautiful friend Lisa took some amazing photos of them. We  may or may not be guilty of styling the tarts - scootching chairs out of the way, strategically placing flowers, etc.

We need to give the credit to Kim Boyce for those tarts BUT we will (not so humbly) take the credit for the succulent Lavender Earl Grey iced tea that wet our whistles. Right now on the East Coast, it is so disgustingly hot and humid but in California it's more like a golden paradise. So if you are out East or in sticky Florida, you should suck this delicious stuff down to try to stay cool. If you live out West, you can just add this tasty drink as the perfect way to top off a beautiful and temperate existence.

You are going to throw a lot of ice into this, so don't worry if it seems to be too strong at first - that's intentional, so that the refreshing iced tea doesn't get watered down. However, if you do have the time to allow the tea to chill in the fridge before serving, just add more hot water. Also, you can adjust the amount of honey to your liking.

If you don't have access to a delightful hippie co-op that sells lavender, you can order it on amazon. Or you can buy Earl Grey Lavender tea from Revolution Tea...Safeway usually carries this.

Lavender Earl Grey Iced Tea

6 tablespoon loose leaf earl grey

1 tablespoon of lavender
8 cups hot water

1/4 - 1/2 cup honey

lots of ice

In a large pitcher, combine earl grey tea, lavender and hot water. Allow the mixture to steep 5-8 minutes, then strain out the tea. While the tea is still hot, stir in the honey, tasting along the way to make sure it meets your standards. 

Next, dump in a bunch o' ice. Remember, most of it will melt but that's why we brewed it so strong. Keep adding ice until it's cold and some ice remains without immediately melting.