Iced Tea: Bancha w/ Green Rooibos & Lemon Verbena

The temperature in Philadelphia has broken 90 degrees Farenheit for two days in a row now. While I love hot weather (including the extremely humid heat of the east coast of the U.S.), temperatures this high do make me switch to iced tea.

I brewed up my first batch of iced tea of the year, and it was delightful.

The recipe for this batch:

• Four teaspoons bancha.


• Two teaspoons green rooibos.


• One teaspoon lemon verbena.

I steeped these in one cup of hot water for 3 minutes, then added three cups of cold water and chilled it.

The brands are not particularly important, which is why I have not featured them prominently; if you wish to make something similar, I would recommend using whatever loose-leaf source you have. I used lemon verbena and green rooibos from Upton Tea Imports, and Hime bancha.

I was drinking this by myself, so I only made four cups worth. The result was delightful: surprisingly lemony, but without being sour, mildly astringent from the bancha, and with a refreshing, grassy aroma. If I could change one thing, I would use slightly more green rooibos. In working out the proportions, I forgot how green rooibos tends to blend into the background when combined with green tea or lemon-scented herbs.

Do you have any favorite iced tea blends that you've made from scratch, either of pure tea, pure herbals, or a blend of tea with herbs?