06/13/2026
This is one of those drinks that looks fancy, tastes refreshing, and does not require you to act like you graduated from beverage school.
The cherries give it that beautiful fruity flavor, the ginger adds a little warm bite, and the tea keeps it from being overly sweet. Serve it over ice and suddenly you look like you had a whole plan.
What You Need:
4 cups water
4 black tea bags or green tea bags
1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, sliced
2 to 4 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Ice
Extra cherries for serving, optional
Method:
Add the water, cherries, and sliced ginger to a pot. Bring it to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
Use the back of a spoon to mash the cherries a little while they simmer. We are not being delicate here. We want that cherry flavor to show up.
Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for about 5 minutes, then remove them.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Press the cherries a bit to get all that good juice out, because wasting flavor is not the plan.
While the tea is still warm, stir in your honey, maple syrup, or sugar. Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Let it cool, then refrigerate until chilled.
Serve over ice with extra cherries if you want it to look cute and like you had your life together that day.
Notes From the Kitchen:
If you like a stronger ginger kick, let the ginger simmer a few extra minutes.
If you like it sweeter, add more sweetener. Taste as you go, because cherries can be sweet or tart depending on their mood.
Fresh or frozen cherries both work. No need to make this harder than it needs to be.
For a fizzy version, fill your glass halfway with the tea and top it with sparkling water.
This is also great made ahead and kept in the fridge, because it tastes better once it has had time to mind its business and chill.
