Iced Raspberry Tea -- When Two Simple Things Become Something Better

Solstice. I've been marking these for years now and each one still has a character of its own. This one fell in the middle of haying, which meant I noted it while driving the swather at seven in the evening with the light still abundant and the cut alfalfa smell filling the cab. The longest day of a year that has been, on balance, a better year than the two before it. That's the honest accounting.

The therapy work — I've been going every two weeks for four months — has moved into territory I didn't expect to reach this quickly. The question Dr. Crain returned to this week was about what I'm afraid of in intimacy, not the word I use but the clearer one. I said something about becoming too visible, the exposure of being known. She asked what would happen if I was known and she didn't name what would happen. I sat with that. The session ended before I answered. I drove home on the interstate in the early evening and the mountains were lit orange on the west faces and I thought about the question the rest of the drive.

The answer, I think, is that I don't know what would happen. Which is different from the answer I would have given three years ago, which was that I knew exactly what would happen and it was the worst thing. The uncertainty is progress. The uncertainty is the door slightly open rather than sealed.

Made lavender lemonade this week — Mom grew lavender along the fence and it bloomed this week and I made simple syrup with the flowers and the result was something we drank all week on the porch in the evenings. Nothing complicated. Just the right combination of two things that were each correct on their own and better together. There are summer afternoons that don't ask for more than that.

The lavender lemonade came together almost by accident — flowers from the fence, a simple syrup, nothing more — and what struck me wasn’t the recipe itself but the feeling of it: two right things combining into something better. That’s what I kept thinking about when I reached for this iced raspberry tea later in the week. It’s the same logic, really. Fruit, tea, cold water, an afternoon that doesn’t ask you to explain yourself. Some weeks that’s exactly the recipe you need.

Iced Raspberry Tea

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes + chilling | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 cups water, divided
• 4 black tea bags
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups cold water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Ice, for serving
• Fresh raspberries and lemon slices, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Brew the tea. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and let cool to room temperature.
2. Make raspberry syrup. In a small saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar, and remaining 2 cups of water over medium heat. Stir and cook until sugar dissolves and raspberries break down, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Strain the syrup. Pour the raspberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large pitcher, pressing the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
4. Combine and chill. Add the brewed tea, cold water, and lemon juice to the pitcher with the raspberry syrup. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 1 hour.
5. Serve. Pour over ice and garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon slices if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 55 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 5mg