Berry-Infused Diya Iced Tea
Welcome your guests with a refreshing Setšong Diya iced tea or cocktail. This indigenous tea is found in the Limpopo region. Infuse the Diya tea with berries to make it the perfect thirst quencher
for summer.
Recipe by: Seven Colours Eatery’s Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele
MAKES 1L
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Setšong Diya Red Root Loose-leaf Tea
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 tbsp honey (can be adjusted to taste)
- ¼ cup fresh mixed berries
- 2 cups cold water
- Ice cubes
- 1 cup lemonade
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- Mint leaves (for garnish)
Method
- Place the tea in a heatproof jug or pot. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the Diya loose-leaf tea and let it steep for 5–7 minutes.
- Strain the tea leaves then stir in the honey and berries while the tea is still warm, adjusting it to your preferred sweetness.
- Pour 2 cups of cold water into the tea. Place the tea in the refrigerator and let it chill for at least 2 hours.
- To Serve, fill the glasses or jug with ice cubes, lemonade and lemon followed by the cooled Diya tea. This will create beautiful contrasting layers.
- Garnish with fresh mint leaves and skewered berries.
Top Tip:
This tea is naturally caffeine-free. You can substitute the Diya tea for rooibos or black tea. Add a shot of rum to turn the drink into a cocktail.
Spiked strawberry lemonade cocktail
Recipe by: Mogau Seshoene (Lazy Makoti) & Zanele van Zyl (Cooking with Zanele)
PREP TIME: 15 min
SERVES: 4–6
For the simple syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
For the Cocktail
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, stems removed. Leave 2 or 3 for garnish
- Few sprigs mint
- Juice of 3 lemons
- 4 cups water
- 1½ cups vodka
For the simple syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to simmer until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
For the cocktail
- Remove the pot from heat and let it cool for about 30 minutes.
- Puree strawberries and mint leaves together in a blender or food processor.
- Combine all the simple syrup, strawberry-mint puree, lemon juice, water, and vodka in a jug. Stir to combine.
- Fill glasses with ice and pour in the lemonade. Garnish with strawberries and some more fresh mint, if desired.
Blueberry Lemonade Mojito
A bright and refreshing cocktail of homemade blueberry simple syrup, lemon, mint and white rum. Topped with lemonade.
Recipe by: Natasha Maseko @natashas.eats
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
Quantities per glass
For the blueberry simple syrup
- 1 cup blueberries fresh/frozen (if frozen, you don’t need to thaw)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
For the Cocktail
- 5 fresh blueberries
- A lemon wedge
- A few mint leaves
- ¼ cup crushed ice
- 1 tbsp blueberry simple syrup
- 2 shots of white rum
- ½ cup lemonade
Method
- To make the blueberry simple syrup: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan then bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down the
heat and simmer on low for 10 minutes until the sauce is thick. Then pass the sauce through a strainer. Pour into a sealable jar and refrigerate. - To make the cocktail: In a glass, using the back of a wooden spoon, gently crush the fresh blueberries, lemon wedge and a few mint leaves. Then add ice, blueberry simple syrup and white rum. Fill the glass up with lemonade, then garnish to your liking.
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Porn Star Martini
Recipe by: Kholiwe Rafu @kholiwe_cooks
SERVES 2
Ingredients
- 2 double shots of vanilla vodka
- Double shot of passion fruit liqueur
- 2 double shots of granadilla pulp
- Double shot of lime juice
- 200 ml MCC/Champagne
- 1 granadilla
Method
- Add all the ingredients except for the MCC and granadilla to a cocktail shaker.
- Add 5–6 ice cubes to the shaker and shake for at least 10 seconds.
- Use 2 chilled coupe glasses. Divide the cocktail equally between them.
- Cut the granadilla in half and carefully place each half facing up on top of each cocktail. It should be a floating garnish.
- Pour the MCC into shot glasses for each person to serve as a sidecar for the cocktail.
- Each person can pour the MCC into their cocktail just before consuming it.
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Originally published for print in BONA Magazine
