Honeysuckle Iced Tea is a sweet, floral, and refreshing drink made from honeysuckle blossoms ~ it’s the perfect thing to sip on a warm summer day!
honeysuckle iced tea celebrates the arrival of spring
With Easter and Passover behind us, spring is really and truly here. The honeysuckle vine draped across my front porch is in bloom, and every time I go in or out I’m blown away by the scent. I’ve been determined to use those incredible – edible flowers somehow. I’m always inspired by ingredients I can find in my own yard, (or my neighbor’s!) Over the last three years we’ve moved so often that I’ve tried to reduce the sting by challenging myself to find the elements in each new landscape that I can incorporate into my cooking.
I tried to make you a honeysuckle ice cream, but I’m going to have to keep working on that one, the flavor just didn’t come through. (Update: recipe for Honeysuckle Ice Cream here!) Honeysuckle tea is more mainstream, in fact its been used medicinally by the Chinese for thousands of years. I love it for its delicate scent, and the nectar is sweeter than honey. I was amazed by how much flavor I got out of a jarful of flowers. If you have access to a vine, you’ve got to try this.
honeysuckle tea is made with the delicate white and yellow flowers of the Japanese honeysuckle vine
It’s considered an invasive species, so gardeners and conservationists don’t like it, but it is pretty common, so chances are there’s a vine or two near you. The flowers come in pairs, and you’ll want to pluck them right at their base, where the nectar is. Look for freshly opened flowers, and avoid or pick out the leaves, stems, and berries.
how to make honeysuckle tea
- The tea is made by pouring scalding water over the blossoms, and letting it cool at room temperature.
- Then you can chill your infusion in the refrigerator.
- I left mine overnight before straining it through a coffee filter.
what does honeysuckle tea taste like?
honeysuckle tea has a lovely pale celadon color, a light floral scent, and a surprisingly sweet flavor.
Pour over ice, and add a sprig of mint. Whatever you do, though, don’t add honey before tasting your tea — it’s incredibly sweet all by itself. You might want a squeeze of lemon if you don’t like sweet tea.
If you’ve got a honeysuckle vine blooming nearby, be sure to try my other honeysuckle recipes:
safety note: gathering and foraging wild edibles is fun and safe when you know what you’re doing. Make sure you can identify the plants that you are picking, and don’t pick from roadsides or anywhere where pesticides have been used. If you need help identifying Japanese Honeysuckle, check out this article.
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Honeysuckle Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 2 cups honeysuckle blossoms, more or less
garnish
- fresh mint sprigs
- a few honeysuckle blossoms
Instructions
- Pluck the blossoms from the honeysuckle vine. Discard any leaves or green parts. Try to take the freshly opened flowers, and even the buds that are about to open. Put them in a pitcher or mason jar.
- Cover with about 2 1/2 cups water that has been heated to just boiling. Give it a good stir and let steep at room temperature for several hours. Then refrigerate overnight.
- Strain the tea through a fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or a coffee filter. The coffee filter will yield a crystal clear tea.
- Serve cold over ice with a mint sprig and a few blossoms for garnish.
Notes
Don’t forget to pin this Honeysuckle Iced Tea!
Wow, your pictures are soooo beautify! I’m just back from Hawaii this week…this reminds me of Pikake (Jasmine Flower) Iced Tea…love this!! =)
I would love to taste the Jasmine iced tea, I bet it’s similar!
Sue! This brings back so many memories! We used to live on this road growing up that was lined with honeysuckle trees. Everyday in the summer we would go ride bikes and pick the honeysuckes to suck. It was so much fun and makes me smile thinking about it! This tea looks delicious
When I was in elementary school, my friends and I used to eat the honey drops from the honeysuckle in the schoolyard. Good memories. I’m sure it is such a lovely note of flavor in this iced tea!
I’m headed over to your house, Sue! I adore the scent and flavor of honeysuckle as it brings back those early childhood food memories and of springtime. There’s nothing else quite like it. Perhaps, with your tea, you have an answer for your ice cream? I think a honeysuckle tea sherbet (granita) or ice cream (gelato?) would be lovely!
I’ll be waiting for you on the porch with a nice tall glass!
What a refreshing looking tea, was not aware that honey-suckle was edible. Love the way they smell so I can only imagine how wonderful the taste must be.
What a refreshing tea, the honeysuckle must add such a nice flavor!
Hi Sue, thanks for posting this – I am totally fascinated! Japanese honeysuckle came up on my radar last year, when I came across a few organic cosmetic brands that were using Japanese honeysuckle extract as a preservative. I don’t know anyone who has a vine but will look for it the next time I go to the garden centre.
Your honeysuckle tea is reminds me of elderflower cordial which is very popular in Sweden. My husband told me of how his grandmother would pick bundles of elderflowers from the tree in her yard and boil it in sugar syrup to create the cordial. It is an incredibly refreshing drink, especially in the summer time.
This is really opening up my mind to different ways to eat and drink. The cordial sounds great, is it alcoholic? I know St Germain is made from elderflower, can you imagine a honeysuckle liquor? Now I have to check that out!
No, the elderflower cordial is not alcoholic. We buy ours at Ikea – not sure if the Ikea stores in the U.S. stock the same foods as in Canada. I’ve also seen elderflower cordial at delicatessens that specialize in Northern and Eastern European foods. I have heard of St. Germain but have yet to taste it – I must try and find it, I’m sure it would make an excellent cocktail!
I want to come and sit on your front porch Sue! This is so beautiful, I’m not sure I could drink it. I think I’d just want to sit and stare at it 🙂
Come on over for a visit 🙂
I had no idea that honeysuckle was edible. But as it is, what a lovely idea to make a tea with it. Aren’t the flowers beautiful?
You know, the more I learn, the more things ARE edible, it makes sense, really. It’s hard to believe those little flowers pack such a sweet punch!
Lovely tea Sue! This brought back so many memories. As a child, I remember pulling the green stem out from the back of the flower and tasting the nectar from those lovely honeysuckle vines! A sweet memory indeed 🙂
I never did that, so the flavor is new to me.
I just noticed Honeysuckle’ in my backyard…actually they have been there year after year. My sister really brought them to my attention and so we goggled information on them and came across your blog. I’m making some tea right now. Thanks for the recipe