Healthy and Refreshing Tea Popsicles

Tea popsicles are the perfect cool treat for hot days. When you have a batch of these waiting in the fridge, you will not have to go to the grocery store or wait for the ice cream truck to come around your neighborhood to enjoy a delicious popsicle. The rich flavors and health benefits of tea make these popsicles stand out. Making your popsicles at home has the added benefit of allowing you to make a hydrating treat exactly the way you like it. Chocolatey, berry, minty or bright purple – the tea popsicle possibilities are endless. 

Each popsicle mold usually holds between 2-4 oz of tea popsicle filling. The number of popsicle molds per tray vary. These recipes will each make around 2 cups or 16 oz of popsicle filling. You may need to adjust the recipes based on the size and number popsicle of molds on your tray. 

Pro tip: make sure to leave a quarter inch gap at the top of each popsicle when you are filling your molds, so that your tea popsicles have room to expand as they freeze. When you are ready to remove your frozen popsicles from their molds, running the mold under warm water can help release the popsicles. 

Strawberry Sunset Popsicles

Strawberries are the quintessential taste of early summer. These strawberry sunset popsicles celebrate the juicy taste of strawberries by pairing them with the brightness of mango and the zing of hibiscus tea. Hibiscus tea has its origins in Nigeria, where it is traditionally used to help cool the body in hot weather.* This makes hibiscus tea the perfect popsicle ingredient to help you stay hydrated and nourished on a warm day. The two step freezing process in this recipe will give your popsicles a beautiful layered effect, just like a sunset. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Hibiscus Strawberry Tea steeped according to directions below

½ cup of pureed fresh mango

½ cup of seedless strawberry jam

Recipe:

1. Steep 2 Hibiscus Strawberry Tea Bags in 8 oz/1 cup of just boiled water for 7 minutes. Remove the tea bags and cool the tea.
2. Once your hibiscus tea has cooled, divide it equally between 2 bowls. 
3. Puree your fresh mango in a food processor or blender. Pour your mango puree into a bowl containing half of the hibiscus tea. Mix until combined. 
4. Spoon your mango puree tea mixture into your popsicle molds. Place in the freezer and let set for 2-4 hours, until the mixture is solid.
5. Mix together the remaining hibiscus tea and the seedless strawberry jam. Spoon this mixture on top of the frozen mango puree mixture in your popsicle molds. Let set for another 2-4 hours until your popsicles are solid. 
6. Remove the popsicles from their molds. Admire the beautiful sunset layered effect in your strawberry popsicle and enjoy this sweet treat! 

Energizing Mint Popsicle

This tea popsicle recipe is based on everything you love about a decadent scoop of mint chip ice cream. It has the added bonus of containing the energizing properties of black tea and can even help you get one of your daily servings of greens. This recipe incorporates a ½ cup of fresh spinach to achieve a lovely green color, and the spinach flavor is hardly detectable in the final chocolate mint popsicle. This creamy tea popsicle is the perfect pick-me-up on a warm day.

Ingredients:

2 Theo & Thea® Mint Chip Crème Pyramid Tea Bags steeped according to instructions below (if preparing popsicles for children or others sensitive to caffeine, 2 Peppermint Chocolate Tea Bags could be substituted)

1 ½ cups full-fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup fresh mint leaves

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup fresh spinach

½ cup crushed chocolate sandwich cookies (optional)

Recipe:

1. Pour coconut milk and sugar into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Heat until steaming. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add mint leaves, cornstarch and 2 Theo & Thea® Mint Chip Crème Pyramid Tea Bags.
2. Remove tea bags and mint leaves from the coconut milk after 13 minutes.
3. Pour warm and minty coconut milk into a blender or food processor with the fresh spinach. Puree until smooth.
4. If you would like extra chocolate in your popsicle, gently fold in crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.
5. Scoop the mixture into your popsicle molds and freeze until solid.
6. Remove the popsicles from their molds. Enjoy the cooling properties of mint in this tea popsicle.

Pretty Purple Popsicles

A popsicle that contains beautifying benefits for your skin, nails and hair? You have to try these vibrant purple tea popsicles. Our Beautifying Botanicals® Daily Beauty Herbal Tea contains blue butterfly pea flowers and blueberries that both supply anthocyanins, which have been shown to promote collagen*. This recipe adds even more blueberries to help you stay radiant this summer.

Ingredients:

2 Beautifying Botanicals® Daily Beauty Herbal Tea Bags steeped according to instructions below

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons honey

Recipe:

1. Steep 2 Beautifying Botanicals® Daily Beauty Herbal Tea Bags in 8 oz/1 cup of just boiled water for 7 minutes. Remove the tea bags and cool the tea.
2. Add cooled tea, fresh blueberries and honey to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. For smoother popsicles, you can run the mixture through a sieve to remove any larger bits of fruit or fruit skin.
3. Scoop the puree into your popsicle molds. Freeze until solid.
4. Remove the popsicles from their molds. Show off their vibrant purple color and share one with a friend. Their juicy blueberry flavor (perfectly enhanced with honey and butterfly pea flower tea) will have you reaching for this tea popsicle recipe all summer long.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.