Homemade Lemon Fennel Iced Tea

It has finally turned into summer around here. Gardens are their greenest, overflowing and generous. I’m lucky to have my own patch where I grow lots of herbs. During these warmest of months, I love a good glass of herbal iced tea.

Fennel tea is a delicious and popular variety of tea that helps prevent and relieve muscle spasms, improve digestion, and treat gastrointestinal issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, heartburn, flatulence, and stomach cramps. It also helps lower blood pressure, aid weight loss, protect the respiratory system, detoxify the body, balance hormones, and boost libido, among others.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds or fresh fennel fronds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon green tea
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

METHOD

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the fennel, cinnamon stick, green tea, turn off the heat, and let the mixture steep for 5-10 minutes.
3. Strain the solids through a fine sieve into a pitcher, and let the tea cool to room temperature.
4. Once it’s cool, add the lemon juice.
5. Refrigerate the tea for at least 30 minutes to chill.
6. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice cubes and thin slices of lemon, and garnish with a fresh green fennel frond.

You can drink it cold for summer as well as hot for winter.