Chocolate-Tea Popsicles
Experience the sinful taste of chocolate, paired with the cool, tingling freshness of mint or creamy coconut.
Homemade tea popsicles are easy to make and cost less than buying commercial popsicles, which usually contain a lot of sugar, artificial flavours, colourings, and preservatives. When making popsicles with tea, the amount of sugar that is used can be reduced, or eliminated entirely.
When adding sugar, honey or maple syrup to popsicles, it’s always best to dissolve the sweetener in hot tea first, and then add other ingredients. The sweeteners will combine with the rest of the ingredients much more effectively if they have been dissolved in hot tea beforehand
WESTCOAST PEPPERMINT POPSICLE
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. Westcoast Peppermint loose tea 2 cups water
1 tbsp. honey, cane sugar or brown sugar (optional)
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 cups non-dairy milk
To Make:
Bring water to a full, rolling boil. Pour 2 cups water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in sweetener to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Stir cocoa powder into 1⁄4 cup of non-dairy milk until it is fully dissolved. Slowly pour more milk into the cocoa powder mixture until it is completely and thoroughly combined. Stir in the chilled, sweetened tea with chocolate milk. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving.
optional: Here are other teas which work well in this recipe, and can be substituted for the original tea listed in the recipe: Angelwater, Allergy & Hay Fever, Green Dragon. Spicy, citrusy and fruity flavours are also delicious with chocolate, try Sour Cherry or Herbal Chai.
COCONUT CHOCOLATE PEAR FUDGSICLE
This popsicle combines the intoxicating cocoa flavour of Chocolate Pear with rich coconut milk.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp.Chocolate Pear loose tea: 1 cup water
1 tbsp. maple syrup or brown sugar (optional)
21⁄2 cups coconut milk
To Make:
Bring water to a full, rolling boil. Pour 1 cup water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in maple syrup to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Combine chilled tea with coconut milk. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving.
Turn into an indulgent adult treat by adding 1/2 cup Bourbon or Irish Cream Whiskey before freezing. Note: Alcohol will prevent popsicles from freezing completely and solidly. Depending on the recipe, you can sometimes add a bit of alcohol to a popsicle, but beware, if the alcohol content is too high, your popsicle won’t freeze completely.
optional: The following teas also work well in this recipe, and can be substituted for the original tea listed in the recipe: Vanilla Plantation, Silk Road Chai or Chocolate Panda.