Recipe 3 of the Summer Recipe Series: Self-loving treats for a sweet tooth, is a drink that can be prepared hot or cold, depending on where you live… Licorice Tea.

Licorice Tea when prepare as an iced tea, feels like a sweet summer breeze.

We get the sweetness from the Licorice, the Summer heat from the Ginger and the fresh breeze from the Mint.

For me, this delicious summery beverage can serve us in so many ways…

Served cold to cool you down on a hot summer’s day.

Served hot as a powerful afternoon pick-me-up, or drunk after dinner, as a sweet substitute for dessert.

Because of the herbs used, this Licorice Tea blend is particularly great for digestion, so if you want to lose weight or simply satisfy those sweet cravings while caring for your digestive systems, you can…

1) Swap your sweet treats for a cuppa Licorice tea, and/or

2) Enjoy how this herbal blend helps boost your digestive powers, so your body has deep support in processing your food and distributing the nutrients where they most need to go.

When I made this blend my son just wanted to have more and more and more!

And my husband – who is not a tea drinker at all – has now fallen in love with the sweet Licorice flavour.

So this blend is certainly one the whole family will love.

LICORICE ICED TEA:

I make this tea blend for my son’s birthday every year and it’s always a big hit for both the small and big kids alike!

If you’re looking for a healthy but sweet beverage to keep everyone happy over the festive season, or any time in summer, this is your go-to recipe.

MULLED LICORICE TEA:

One year, despite my son’s birthday being in summer, it was cold and poured with rain, so instead of my Licorice Iced Tea going to waste, we warmed it up, and served it hot as a Mulled Tea!

Again, another big hit among our guests. 

This is the perfect tea to place on the stove and sip all day, warm your insides and place you in a cheery festive mood.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 part Licorice Root
• 2 part fresh Mint
• 1 part fresh Ginger
• Slices of Lemon and/or Orange

Feel free to play around with the ratios. If you prefer more sweetness, add more Licorice. If you prefer more heat, add more Ginger, or if you prefer more coolness, add more Mint.

METHOD

While the preparations are similar for both the hot and cold options, there are a couple of differences…

MULLED LICORICE TEA

We first prepare this drink as a decoction, by placing the Licorice Root, chopped Ginger, slice of Lemon and/or Orange (with the skin on) in a pot of water on the stove. With the lid on, slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer for a further 20-minutes. If you’d like to add a little spice to your blend, you can add a few Cardamom Pods and Cinnamon to the pot.

Once simmered, turn off the stove, add the Mint, leaving the lid on the pot and allow to steep for a further 10-minutes. If you’re drinking as a hot Mulled Licorice Tea, enjoy!

LICORICE ICED TEA

We first prepare this drink as a decoction, by placing the Licorice Root and chopped Ginger, in a pot of water on the stove. With the lid on, slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer for a further 20-minutes. If you’d like to add a little spice to your blend, you can add a few Cardamom Pods and Cinnamon to the pot.

Once simmered, turn off the stove, leaving the lid on the pot leave the tea to cool down to room temperature and then place in the fridge in a glass jug to chill. When you’re ready to serve, add some ice cubes, the Mint and the slices of Lemon and/or Orange.

Note: Don’t discard your roots. You can usually make another batch from the same herbs.

If you happen to be one of my Remarkable Relationships participants, you’ll find a downloadable PDF of the recipe in the BONUS section (along with plenty of other recipes).

Please enjoy this drink, let it support you.

WHY I LOVE THESE INGREDIENTS…

Licorice Root

Not only does Licorice Root taste deliciously sweet, it has many health benefits, and is actually one of the most-used herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s generally used in small amounts and is considered to be a synergist or peacemaker, in that it helps herbs work together more effectively.

At the first sign of a sore throat Licorice is the herb you want to reach for and sip all day, as Licorice is a sweet demulcent that soothes mucous membranes, helping to ease a dry, irritated throat. Because it’s also a pectoral herb, it also helps to sooth coughs, especially the dry, irritated type that can keep you up all night.

Add in the fact that Licorice is an antiviral and antibacterial and you’ve got a pretty powerful herb for common upper respiratory infections, as well as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Now Licorice Root also helps sooth mucous membranes further down, and is commonly used for all types of ulcers, and other types of inflammation in the digestive tract. It can be particularly helpful with people who have irritated bowels such as those diagnosed with IBS. If you get constipated easily, you may also like to try some Licorice Root.

Licorice Root can also stimulate the immune system response to more effectively kill viruses. And if you have problem gums, then brushing your teeth with Licorice Root is a great option.

All of that said, there are a few things you need to know about Licorice Root before you drink it morning, noon and night!!

Licorice, when taken in large amounts for long periods of time, can increase blood pressure and cause water retention. To avoid this, don’t take more than 10 grams of licorice per day for an extended period of time. And if you do have high blood pressure, then this blend is not for regular enjoyment. That said, if you’re like me, and have low blood pressure, you can certainly use this herb to help boost your blood pressure to healthy levels. I also need to add, that Licorice Root is NOT recommended during pregnancy.

Ginger

We’re all familiar with Ginger. Many of us cook with it… but not many people know just how healing this simple root is! Because it can be used for practically anything, Ayurveda calls Ginger the ‘universal medicine’.

The oldest documented use of Ginger dates back to about 2000BC. Yes, it’s been used for centuries, and is still one of the most popular herbs of our times, valued as a medicine, as much as a food. Ginger has also been widely studied with positive results for a variety of issues, making it one of the more accepted herbs in Western medicine.

If we look at the energetic qualities of Ginger, it’s a warm to hot herb with a tendency towards dryness. If you sip hot Ginger tea, you’ll feel the heat from the Ginger warm you up right to your core. Ginger is also aromatic and dispersing, in that it spreads that heat from your core out into your limbs. It does this by stimulating circulation to help increase blood flow to our extremities.

Because many types of pain and tension in the body are caused by stagnation and coldness, we can use Ginger to help relieve different types of pain, including the cramping pain women get with the onset of their period. It’d also a powerful anti-inflammatory, making it particularly helpful for those with chronic inflammatory pain such as arthritis.