Jasmine-Citrus Green Tea Granita Float--A "Simple Saturday Sipper"

I have been experimenting with making tea and fruit juice granitas lately. With fresh juices, organic tea and agave or honey rather than sugar, they are healthy and flavorful and give me another way to use up the many teas in my collection. A local tea place makes a wonderful "float" with a tea and fruit juice base and a scoop of similarly flavored sorbet or granita that sells for $5-$6. I wanted to create one at home by using an organic green tea with jasmine and citrus flavorings to make both the granita and the iced tea. This Jasmine-Citrus Green Tea Granita Float makes the perfect "Simple Saturday Sipper".

Jasmine-Citrus Green Tea Granita Float

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

Jasmine-Citrus Iced Tea:

Bring fresh cold water to just under a boil. Add jasmine-citrus green tea or any jasmine tea, (use 1/2 Tbsp per cup of water), and steep about 3 minutes. Strain and place tea in fridge until very cold. Meanwhile make the granita.

Jasmine-Citrus Green Tea Granita:

1 lemon, organic preferred, well washed

1 orange, organic preferred, well washed

4 cups water

1/4 cup jasmine-citrus green tea or any jasmine tea blend

1 Tbsp agave syrup, or to taste

Remove outer peel (no white pith) of lemon and orange, chop coarsely and add to medium pan with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover pan and remove from heat, steeping for about 15 minutes. Add tea and steep another 5 minutes. Add the juice from the orange and lemon to the tea mixture. Add 1 Tbsp agave, then taste and add more agave if needed. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a container and refrigerate until completely chilled. Put chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.* Remove mixture from ice cream maker and freeze several hours to over night until very firm. 

*Note: If you don't have an ice cream machine or prefer, you can make granita placing the tea mixture into a baking pan and freezing until nearly firm (about 5-6 hours). Remove pan from freezer, put granita into a cold mixing bowl and break up the mixture by beating it with an electric mixer on medium until the granita is broken up and slightly "fluffy". Return granita to pan and spread it out evenly. Re-freeze until solid. 

Assembling the Float:

Once both iced tea and granita are ready, assemble the float. Place a scoop of granita in a tall glass, add tea and garnish with mint and lemon and enjoy! (If granita is too frozen to scoop, remove it from the freezer and place in fridge 25-30 minutes before serving). 

Notes/Results: Delicious, cold and refreshing. With the citrus, the jasmine isn't overpowering and it adds a nice floral complexity. As the granita melts, it sweetens the iced jasmine tea and adds more citrus flavor. You can add more agave (or honey would work too) if you want a sweeter profile but I like it slightly tangy. Perfect for a warm afternoon--a definite keeper recipe as is, and with different tea/fruit combinations.

Happy Saturday!