Artificial Flavors Free Herbal Arnold Palmer with Fresh Herbs
Most bottled Arnold Palmers and flavored teas rely on artificial flavoring concentrates to mimic the taste of real citrus and herbs — and you can absolutely taste the difference. This version skips all of that by building every layer of flavor from scratch: black tea steeped with fresh mint, fresh basil, and optional culinary lavender, then paired with a lemonade made from real squeezed lemons and a simple homemade syrup. The result is bright, floral, and refreshing in a way that no bottle on a convenience store shelf can replicate. Steeping the herbs directly with the tea bags pulls out a complexity that feels almost fancy, even though the process is genuinely straightforward. The homemade simple syrup dissolves cleanly into the lemonade, giving you just the right level of sweetness without any mystery ingredients. Served over ice with a sprig of mint and a lemon slice, it looks as good as it tastes — the kind of drink that makes a regular afternoon feel like a little occasion.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the herbal tea
- 4 cups water, divided
- 3 black tea bags
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, lightly packed
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 1 tbsp dried culinary lavender (optional)
For the simple syrup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
For the lemonade
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4–5 lemons)
- 1 ½ cups cold water
For serving
- ice, for serving
- fresh mint sprigs, for serving (optional)
- lemon slices, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, mint leaves, basil leaves, and dried lavender (if using), and steep for 5 minutes.
- 2
Remove and discard the tea bags. Strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher, pressing the herbs gently to extract their liquid, then discard the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of cold water and let the tea cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
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