Red, White & Blueberry Tea Float: A "Simple Saturday Sipper" for Independence Day

Happy July 4th! In honor of our Nation's Independence Day, I thought I should make a "Simple Saturday Sipper" that gets into the spirit of the holiday with some red, white and blue. I'll be honest, when putting this drink together color became about as important as flavor, but luckily the flavor turned out to be really good. A combination of Red Zinger herbal tea, coconut water, lemon-lime soda for a bit of fizz and coconut sorbet--it might sound like a lot of random ingredients but the taste is delicious; a little tangy, a bit sweet and very exotic from the tea and sorbet. If you are not familiar with Red Zinger, it is an herbal tea, or more accurately tisane or herbal infusion that was introduced by Celestial Seasonings in 1972 and according to the company is described as "a blend of tart and tangy Chinese hibiscus and fruity Thai hibiscus, balanced by cool, refreshing peppermint and the unique, earthy sweetness of wild cherry bark."

Red, White and Blueberry Tea Float

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes about 2 quarts or about 5 large floats)

4 cups water

8 Red Zinger Tea Bags*

1 Tbsp agave, honey or other sweetener (optional)

2 cups coconut water*

2 cups lemon lime soda

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (blackberries will also work)

1 pint good coconut sorbet

Bring water to just boiling. Remove from heat, add tea bags and let steep about 6 minutes, remove tea bags and add sweetener to tea if using. Pour tea into pitcher and place in refrigerator to cool completely. When ready to serve, add coconut milk and lemon-lime soda to tea in pitcher. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of blueberries in the bottom of each glass. and pour soda mixture in. Top with a scoop of coconut sorbet and some additional blueberries. Serve immediately with a long spoon and/or wide straw. Enjoy!

*Both coconut water (juice or liquid from green or young coconuts) and Red Zinger tea can be found in most health or natural foods stores.

Notes/Results: Delicious! It ends up with a complex, berry-like flavor with a nice coconut flavor coming through as well. You can adjust the sweetness by adding some agave or honey to the tart tea if you want. Since I was using a lemon-lime soda and adding sorbet, I didn't feel the need to add any additional sweetener, but I probably would have if I had used club soda or seltzer instead of the flavored soda. With all the antioxidants and vitamin C from the hibiscus in the tea and the blueberries, as well as the potassium and minerals in the coconut milk you get some health benefits from this colorful and delicious drink. (BTW: It really looks better in person than in these pictures as you can see all the colors and layers more clearly). A fun drink not just for the holiday and variations with different teas, fruit and sorbets would be great too.

Have a wonderful weekend (and a Happy July 4th if you are celebrating).