Hibiscus & Orange Iced Tea Poles

Keeping the kids hydrated over the summer months can sometimes be tricky. Icy poles are always a favourite in our household, but we find the packaged versions are often filled with sugar or other additives and offer minimal health benefits for our kids. Walso find that so many kids really enjoy herbal tea and so we thought we would combine the two and came up with this easy ice-tea pole recipe, that is guaranteed to satisfy the little ones on a hot day.

We used our beautiful hibiscus leaf tea for this recipe for a number of reasons. It provides a vibrant and ‘fun’ colour, a zesty flavour with subtle fruity tones and it pairs perfectly with the sweetness from freshly squeezed orange juice. The hibiscus leaf is also high in antioxidants and has traditionally been used to lower blood pressure, which can be an issue for some of us big kids through the summer months, as our body is under extra pressure to keep us cool.

You can substitute hibiscus tea for many of the other herbal blends, for example, White Rose and GojiPeppermint teaLemon Grass and Ginger and Coconut and Orange all work really well as ice-tea poles.

To make the Love Tea Ice-Tea Poles you will need the following:

-Icy Pole moulds (paper cups can also work well)
-Freshly squeezed orange juice

-Love Tea Hibiscus blend
-Optional: Sliced lemon and/ or berries

Place 2-3 tsp of Hibiscus tea into a teapot or infuser. Add boiling water and steep for 2-3 minutes. Remove the tea leaves, but allow the tea to cool to room temperature. In the meantime, take some of the tea leaves and petals, and place them in the moulds. Once the tea has cooled, pour the tea into the moulds and freeze. If you are wanting to add orange juice for the layered effect, fill the moulds halfway, freeze, add orange juice on top and freeze again. You can add in a berry to each mould for a little more flavour, or squeeze in some fresh lemon juice for a zesty finish. Allow to freeze and enjoy with the kids on a hot day.