Apple and Honey Black Tea (The Blender Way)

What do you use when making juice? Blender or fancy cold press juicer? I've only got my old blender here so I had to add some water when making apple juice. However, if you're using juicer, lucky you to have a more condensed and sweeter apple juice to incorporate to the final drink.

Apple and honey black tea - 

Ingredients (for 3 portions)?

• 1 to 2 tablespoons black tea leaves (or tea bags)
• 1200ml hot water 
• 4 medium apples
• 2 to 3 teaspoons honey
• 2 cups icy cold water
• Some ice cubes (optional)

How?

Let's start with brewing the black tea. Simply follow the instruction for the tea leaves or tea bags using and make two big glasses of tea. 

I used 1200ml hot water for the tea and used about 2 tablespoons of tea leaves. The brewing time varies too. Also if you prefer a stronger tea flavor, try to brew for extra one minute.

Strain out the tea leaves or remove teabags once done. Transfer the hot tea to the fridge and wait till completely cool-off. You can use the leftover tea leaves or tea bags to brew more tea to drink along the way if the flavor still holds.

Peel the apples and slice some fine cubes on the side. The rest cut into chunks and add to the blender. 

We are using about 4 cups of apple cubes. Also pour in 2 cups of cold water to the blender and blend till smooth. Strain the juice and leave the pulp aside. Try to press down the pulp to draw out more juice. 

The portion is about 600ml of cold black tea plus 1 cup of apple juice plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey if using. Add that to the clean blender and blend till evenly incorporated.

Add about 1 to 2 spoonful of tiny apple cubes to the serving glass then pour over the prepped fruity tea. It's up to you if you would like to serve with ice cubes or not.

So what to do with the leftover pulp? I actually saved them and stored in the fridge. Sometimes I would just take a spoon and eat the pulp plain like a healthy snack. But you know what? The best way to utilize the pulp is to either marinade the pork with it or use in pork braise. 

Apple pairs really well with pork, so when use in a marinade, it'll not only provide flavors but also slightly tenderize the meat. If use in a stew or braise, the pulp will act like a minimal sweetening agent, especially good when used in an Asian soy sauce based stew. 

Other drinks recipes:

• Cucumber and pineapple juice with a touch of mint leaves
• Blueberry and mint lemonade (using lemon sparkling water)