In terms of beverages in my life, I'm a fairly straight forward kind of girl. I always have a water bottle with me, my day starts with a cup of coffee, and while I enjoy a good beer, I'll more likely than not choose wine (unless scotch is involved- M and I found a small hobby in trying new scotches).
Even with my penchant for coffee, I keep a cupboard well stocked with tea because sometimes a cup of tea sounds perfect (usually more in the winter). However, my knowledge with tea is fairly limited and I had no idea that tea could be such a versatile ingredient in cooking.
If you haven't had a chance to check out Steeped by Annelies Zijderveld, you're missing out. This smoothie is just a small sample of some amazing recipes that highlight tea as an ingredient. I've been eyeing the green tea granola, mini cherry chai cream pies, and especially the cauliflower steaks with tea umami sauce. Each recipe uses a specific variety of tea (and helpful suggestions of brands- since tea can vary greatly from brand to brand). I love when I find a cookbook that expands my view of cooking and this one definitely did (and it's perfect for anyone in your life who loves tea!)
PrintBlueberry Black Tea Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 smoothies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup brewed and cooled English breakfast tea
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- 1 cup peeled, cooked, and chopped red beets (see note)
- ½ banana
- 1 ½ teaspoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup cranberry juice
- 4 ice cubes
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a blender in the order listed. Blend until smooth and add more ice if desired. Taste and adjust sweetness by adding more maple syrup.
Notes
*I'm kind of lazy when it comes to beets and most stores around me sell precooked, peeled, organic beets (perfect for smoothies).
*Annelies also recommends freezing the cranberry juice into ice cubes- I, however, didn't read this until I was most of the way through making the smoothie and went with just the cranberry juice (and works well!)
*Recipe republished from Steeped, Recipes Infused with Tea by Annelies Zijderveld
Christina @ but i'm hungry says
Ooooh, yum! Tea and smoothies... two of my favorite things!
Jessy says
Ouu I love smoothies!! 🙂 gotta try this sometime
Thanks for sharing!
Xoxo Jessy
Cassie says
How refreshing!
Kimberly/TheLittlePlantation says
What an interesting combo and such a great colour. Thanks for sharing.
Kim says
This sounds so delicious and refreshing! I love the idea of putting tea into a smoothie, it's just brilliant! XO -Kim
Anna says
looove, love this!! and the color is to cute <3
Millie | Add A Little says
This sounds wonderfully fruity and love the beautiful colour!
Amanda says
Thanks for finding a way to fit even more tea into my daily life! 🙂 This looks wonderful!
Maja says
This looks yummy! I am so glad we have blueberries in our garden.
xx
Aimee@Aimforhealthybites says
Awesome idea! Tea and smoothies are two of my favorite things and I recently just started a love affair with beets so this is perfect.
Laura says
This looks amazing!! I can't wait to try this on a hot summer day xx
Barbara (BarbB) says
I like the idea of tea in a smoothie. It looks so pretty, too.
Heather says
This looks so bright and perfect for summer!
Amy @ Cultivate Beauty says
Wow, I would never have thought of using tea in a smoothie! Will have to check out the book, sounds so interesting 🙂
Adam Trainor says
All I want now summer is here is nice cold ice drinks and I think this will hit the spot. Smoothies are great as a drink but also as a meal replacement, especially breakfast. With the added tea it is giving you a little caffine boost as tea does contain caffine, just not as much as coffee.
Asli A. says
OMG... I am so impressed. I can't wait to make it.
I can see how this combination of super ingredients could create wonders inside a blender.
Thanks a bunch for sharing.
annelies says
Erin- You really captured the essence of the Blueberry Black Tea Smoothies. Thanks for taking time to get steeped.
Sarah | Well and Full says
I love adding green tea to my smoothies! I bet the combination of black tea and blueberry is delicious, I can't wait to try it! 🙂
Cafetera Krups says
So beautiful recipes. Im going to make it this weekend indeed. Thanks a lot for sharing, I love your Blog!
★★★★★
Fitness Dietitian Em says
So yummy!