Lavender Earl Grey Pops

If you're ever in the mood for something satisfying, simple and cool --> make tea pops.

I don't know what took me so long to come to the conclusion that iced tea-type popsicles are worthwhile sharing on the blog. But of course they're worthwhile -- once I started experimenting I knew someone else out there was going to love this.

With these particular pops you just can't go wrong; we're talking anything lavender + earl grey = excellent. And making dessert that features tea as a main ingredient is just interesting enough to be fun without going full blown veggie cake ;)

The inspiration for these came while perusing the ice cream aisle of a natural food shop... something caught my eye. On display were tea popsicles, advertised as a new product (I always look for those -- love trying new things) and highlighted for only being 20 calories each.

Hmm... now I normally don't count calories, especially for desserts, but that sounded interesting -- maybe it's not super original, but why have I never thought to make popsicles out of tea before? Plus there are requests for lighter dessert options from time to time... I wondered if this could fit the bill?

Happy to report it does! And it works splendidly with my favorite combo: earl grey & lavender.

I never thought I'd like my tea as a popsicle (in fact, just writing that sounds, um, weird). But you know what -- it works, so just gotta go with it.

Now for those of you who are coffee drinkers -- me too! I don't drink a lot of tea, but if I do it's usually strong black orange pekoe or just a good black tea. Only problem is, black tea doesn't make a very good popsicle (I mean, it's a treat after all, not a frozen cuppa...). So some added maple and almond milk sweeten the deal, and then you've got a treat.

Definitely different to your typical fruity popsicle -- more grown up perhaps? But perfectly neat.

Of course this opens up possibilities for all kinds of flavors... you know, if you're a chai tea fan, you can make a chai tea version. If you like a chocolate earl grey (thinking Numi here), go for it. If you like it sweeter, more creamy -- easy fix: add more sweetener, use more milk (or a creamier milk) of your choice.

The formula is simple: just steep your chosen tea, sweeten to your liking, flavor with warming spices, and mellow out / round off with a bit of plant milk. Freeze and enjoy!

P.S. Coming back to the calories... since I mentioned those pops that inspired me at the store were 20 cals, I felt compelled to check what was going on with the versions I was making. I used an online calculator and clocked in at an average of under 40 cals.

Not bad for a light dessert / refresher / quick pick me up, huh? Of course the values will vary depending on your plant milk, sweetener, and so on, but in theory I think this is a great base for those occasionally looking for lighter treat options.

Lavender Earl Grey Pops

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★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: approx 6 pops (amount will vary depending on mold size)
• Category: Ice Cream
• Method: Frozen
• Cuisine: Dessert

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Description

Refreshing, cool, sweet popsicles made from tea! Fun grown-up recipe that can be spiced up with your favorite culinary spices. Gluten-free vegan recipe.

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Ingredients

• 3 bags of earl grey tea (or equivalent in loose-leaf tea)
• 1 tbsp dried lavender (culinary grade)
• 1 ½ cups boiled water
• ¼ cup plant milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 3 - 4 tablespoon maple syrup
• ¼ tsp raw ground vanilla bean (or ½ tsp pure vanilla extract)

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Instructions

1. Steep tea bags and dried lavender in boiled water for 4 minutes, covered (note: place the dried lavender inside a tea infusion bag or in a tea ball first, otherwise you'll have to strain the water). Then remove the tea bags and lavender and allow the mixture to cool off a few mins, unconvered.
2. Once the tea is steeped, add all remaining ingredients and stir everything together to combine. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 4-5 hours or overnight and enjoy!