This herbal cranberry mocktail is sunshine on a cloudy day. Literally. Ok, maybe not literally but it brought me that sunshine feeling on a day filled with dark clouds. It’s all because of a little flower called butterfly pea.
Butterly pea produces a gorgeous blue hue when it’s steeped into a tea and it’s responsible for the beautiful color inside Ultraviolet herbal tea blend. When I write this, we’re in the beginning of the winter season. The cold, gloomy weather already has me feeling a bit cooped up, so I thought bringing bright things into my day might make it feel less winter-y. Butterfly pea is definitely bright. But more importantly, it’s cheerful and optimistic. It’s exactly what I’m looking for.
I steeped a heaping scoop of Ultraviolet and let it cool while I get an ice tray ready. I had some leftover cranberries that I had in the freezer from Thanksgiving and threw a few into each compartment in the ice tray. And to spice it up a little, I also added a few thyme sprigs as well. Once the tea has cooled, I poured filled the tray and froze it for a few hours until it’s completely solid.
It’s dry January and I like to make my drinks extra fancy so they feel like mocktails. I used granulated sugar to rim a pretty glass, because I don’t think you can ever be too extra when you’re getting through the winter months. Then I filled the glass with the prepared ice cubes and topped off with seltzer. Personally, I like ruby red grapefruit seltzer but any flavor will work.
As the ice melts, the cranberries and thyme get loose and it’s so pretty to watch!
HERBAL CRANBERRY MOCKTAIL RECIPE
Ingredients
- Steeped herbal tea (I used Ultraviolet)
- Half a cup of whole cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Seltzer
- Granulated sugar, to taste (optional)
- Orange slice for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Steep herbal tea and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Using an ice tray, place a few cranberries in each cubby.
- Tear or cut the thyme into little sections and put them in with the cranberries.
- Pour over the cooled tea and freeze until all cubes are frozen solid.
- Sugar the rim of a glass (optional) and place a few of the ice cubes inside.
- Pour over the seltzer and garnish with an orange slice (optional)
- Enjoy!