When people think of beverage infusions, they  often think of an ice-cold Arnold Palmer, or strawberry lemonade, but why stop at crafting beverages for summer enjoyment? There are plenty of wonderful beverage infusions that can also warm you up on a cold winter’s night!

The other day we visited with friends who had an aromatic, simmering pot of mulled cider that was enhanced with nuances of star anise, cinnamon and juniper berries. Wow, it was delicious!

No matter the season, winter or summer, there are a plethora of opportunities to craft a hot or cold beverage using combinations of locally sourced herbs, fruits and spices. Any of these could be the basis of a signature drink at an event, wedding or for simply entertaining at home.

Peppers Fine Catering is often called upon to craft a signature non-alcoholic beverage cocktail for catered events. We love doing this because it gives us an opportunity to create an extremely memorable and unique catering opportunity.

By using a simple French Press coffee maker or tea pot, you can produce a delightful and aromatic beverage, too. You can also garner plenty of ideas with a quick Google search for tisanes or infusions.

Here are some examples straight from my own kitchen:

During the summer when our mint patch is bursting, I like to put a few cups of mint leaves (whole) into a French press with a few lemon slices, add a couple teaspoons of sugar and fill the vessel with boiling water. Let this steep for 3-4 minutes and then push down the strainer, for a soothing mint tea that can be enjoyed warm or chilled.

With the grocery store stocked with seasonal fruits like clementines, a particularly sweet and delicious member of the citrus family, why not try a Lemon Clementine Infusion?

Scrape the zest from 6 each clementines into a bowl using a microplane. Cut the clementines in half and squeeze the juice into the same bowl as the zest. Repeat this process with the 2 lemons as well, making sure to include the zest and juice.

In a saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar with 6 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove the heat and add in the zest and juice from the clementine and lemon. Let everything steep, covered for 3-4 minutes and enjoy warm or chilled.

Consider playing around with other ingredients like orange and tarragon, apple cider, thyme, ginger, celery or pineapple. Mix and match, have some fun with them. See what other recipes you can come up with!

If you try a new creative drink infusion, be sure to let us know by posting to our Facebook wall!