Remember when I made that desperate plea for coworkers? Between all of my epic naps, I've been begging for friends to come over to force me to cook (somewhat unsuccessfully). With my energy coming back this week, I swindled Todd into agreeing to a work date where I promised to trade off playing with his 1-year old daughter Fiona while we both made and shot our respective drinks - this Sparkling Asian Pear and Mint Iced Tea for me.
Basically I invited myself over before he realized what was happening.
Heck, if we're being completely honest, Todd practically came up with the inspiration for this drink when I texted him - the local drink master - about how I might go about turning a #cheesebaby-sized pear into a mocktail. The puréeing and the iced tea were both his ideas. All I brought to the party was mint and some fizz.
When I showed up, Todd didn't have a drink of his own to shoot, but insisted that he was there as my assistant (...while I took full advantage of his entire garageful of barware and mad drink photography skills). How do I manage to find the most generous blogger buds ever?
Fiona just sat by playing with all the lenses in her daddy's camera bag like it was baby toy box.
My little growing bun in the oven has been baking for about 16 weeks now, making her approximately the size of a large Asian pear. This late summer fruit is just popping up at the market and, when puréed and mixed with mint and iced tea, it's just the right sip for the transitioning seasons. The pear plays only a minor role to lightly sweeten and thicken the drink while the iced tea and mint take center stage. A little bubbly on top dresses it up into a sparkling iced tea worthy of your next summer party.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 black tea bags
- 24 ounces boiling water
- 3-4 large Asian Pears, peeled and cored
- 24 mint leaves
- 8 ounces of simple syrup, recipe below
- 18 ounces sparkling water
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Steep 6 tea bags in 24 ounces of boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and refrigerate the tea to chill.
- Prepare the simple syrup. Boil equal parts water want sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and refrigerate the simple syrup.
- Purée the pears until smooth in a blender or food processor. To remove any chunks, squeeze the puréed pears through a cheese cloth or press through a fine metal sieve.
- Pour the pear purée into a pitcher and muddle the mint leaves with the pear purée.
- Stir the chilled black tea and simple syrup into the pear purée and return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, stir in 18 ounces of sparkling water and serve over ice.
Nicole - Coking for Keeps -
Extremely jealous of you tapping into Todd's cocktail making secrets! Gosh he's good, and this, this is so beautiful and my gosh, sounds so refreshing!
Sarah Menanix -
Right?! He's a drink genius! (And thanks!!)
Lily | Kale & Caramel -
Um A) I think you just made the iced tea of my dreams. Holy smokes, girl! The combo of earthy black tea and crisp Asian pear and mint? Blown away. So good. And B) These photos. The light. Everything. #DRINKTHESUMMER swoon.
Sarah Menanix -
Eep! Thank you so much Lily! <3 (PS. Move up to the Bay??)
betty -
SO PRETTY. Sarah I love everything about this!!
PS and congrats on the little girl again :)
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks so much Betty! Can't wait until you come back and can meet her:)
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely -
Now this is the prettiest iced tea I have ever seen! I just love your photography Sarah, beautiful. And congrats on your pregnancy! I'm pregnant too! 20 weeks. Hurray for little winter babies. But ours is a boy, which is what we and all of my family secretly hoped for too. Hope you're feeling great!
Sarah Menanix -
You're so sweet Natalie! I was so excited when I read your pregnancy post (and your post about first trimester essentials - I too ate ice almost all the way through it!!) Maybe we can arrange a first date in 16 years;)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan -
Oh gosh, this is gorgeous! I would gladly be a co-worker for you if we lived closer!
Sarah Menanix -
Aw man - I would love to take you up on that! Move here??
Brooke @ Chocolate + Marrow -
Sarah! I'm so glad #drinkthesummer led me to your lovely blog. Everything about it is just gorgeous, including these mocktails! Funny because my BFF is about the same way through her pregnancy (congrats, btw!!) and the thing she misses the most are the cocktails! LOL. I'll have to make these for her sometime soon so that she can get all the joy of fizzy, flavorful drinks!
Sarah Menanix -
You're too sweet Brooke! Thank you so much! Interesting cocktails are definitely missed - but it's been fun exploring the mocktail menu at restaurants haha. Congrats to your BFF! <3
aida mollenkamp -
Such a cute post! And this Ice Tea is gorgeous too!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks Aida! :*
Sheri -
This does sound refreshing and so pretty!! Glad to hear you are getting some fruit into your baby growing body!! ;)
Sarah Menanix -
It's mostly cheese and fruit (popsicles), as you know;)
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk) -
This is so gorgeous! And, congratulations!!! Wish I could be your coworker, too :)
Alanna -
Ahh, these are so pretty Sarah, and the flavors sound divine. I've been craving iced tea like nobody's bidness lately and I can't wait to make this version. xoxo
Sarah Menanix -
<3 <3 <3 Iced tea is just about the only thing I want these days with this heat wave! Thanks lady!
Kristy @ She Eats -
Epic naps + Sparkling Asian Pear and Mint Iced Tea = good ;)
happy #DrinkTheSummer day!
Kelsey @ Appeasing a Food Geek -
Seriously obsessed with these yummy drinks and all of your photos! Happy #drinkthesummer :)
suki -
somehow i missed the announcement, but congrats on your baby girl! :) this iced tea looks amazing for the weather we've been having.
Em -
Awh, you're growing an Asian Pear! I hope he/she is as photogenic as this cocktail, because wowza. (Duh. (S)he totally will be!)) And did I hear you say you basically babysit in exchange for blogging company? Um...hai there. We can tagteam a post aaaaany ol' time. ;)
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven -
Eeek! I didn't even know you were pregnant, Sarah! Huge congrats, girl! xoxo.
And this tea is pretty much just about as gorgeous as iced tea can come. Mint + pears sounds like such an intriguing combo and this looks SO perfectly refreshing for these hot August days!
Sarah | Broma Bakery -
GORGEOUS. Can you extend happy hour until I can get to your place? I'm on my way.
Jenna -
I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I might have to give this a try.
Julie | Small Green Kitchen -
This is a great tea to sip on during a warm summer evening. Puréeing the pears was a wonderful idea and the mint is a perfect addition to this gorgeous tea. Your photos are stunning, Sarah!
Cindy -
So pretty! I'll take the whole pitcher and a side of babysitting, thanks.
Amanda Paa -
these pictures - gah! the light is amazing. and i've always wondered what to use an asian pear in and now i have the perfect solution.
so glad the little one is growing happily - hugs! xo
Sherrie -
CONGRATULATIONS Sarah! I didn't know you were growing a little bun in there. Thanks for wrangling this mocktail together, and for hanging with us. These photos are BEAUTIFUL, xx!
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well -
Hi Sarah! I just love this drink and how you two got together to share it. And that your little babe is the size of the pear you used in this drink, I like my heart just swelled. So stinking sweet. <3
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well -
*think my heart just swelled, not "liked" haha ;)
ellie | fit for the soul -
Ohmunahhhh, totally pinning! As we would say "mahgoodness" in Korean. This is totally my type of sweet drink!!! Dang it~I seriously don't have a knack for drinks since all I ever drink is water, green tea/yerba mate, & coffee, so i'm impressed with this one. It sounds like the perfect combo and super interesting. Very cute post, my dearest!!
Aysegul -
Mint ice tea and asian pear.. Sounds and looks so SO delicious..
Also, congrats on your "bun in the oven"..
Cheers!
Mira -
Gorgeous drink Sarah! Looks refreshing! Love this post! Congrats on your pregnancy!
Selina Lee -
Hi Sarah! We will be making this as welcoming drink for my upcoming cooking workshop. I am using that same Asian pear for this refreshing seafood salad we are making in class, so it will tie in with the entire menu very well. I'll let you know how it goes and will link back to your site when I share my workshop post. Thanks!