Black Tea & Blackberry Sorbet

Down the winding gravel road that leads to my home there’s a large spray of wild blackberry bushes. They are brambly things, completely overgrown, not taken care of by anyone in particular, free for the taking.



Each year we do lots of blackberry picking. Sometimes it’s all of us, a family affair, other times not. This time around it was my sister & I, and two of our sweet dogs. They followed us there and sniffed around a bit before seeing a deer and running off after it. Sarah & I walked to the patch around dusk, as it’s far too hot in the middle of the day, even with the fading light we were sweating up a storm, but despite that and getting all scratched up from the briars, it’s totally worth it! Fresh berries! For free!



I wanted to try something new with them this year, I was originally going to make a plain blackberry sorbet, but then I thought of this. We’re combining two of my favorite things, berries and sweet tea! It’s oh so good, super refreshing and so perfect for summer. I can already see this becoming a staple for these hot months.



The vodka used here is to keep the sorbet from freezing into a solid mass. It keeps is scoopable! Also, sometimes tea gets bitter if it’s steeped too long. taste yours, if it is, add a pinch of baking soda!



Black Tea-Blackberry Sorbet

2 cups water
2 regular tea bags
1 cup sugar
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, if frozen, let thaw completely
1 tbs vodka
2 tbs lemon juice

Bring water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, add sugar and heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool completely.

Puree blackberries in a food processor, then push through mesh sieve to remove seeds. Add vodka and lemon juice. Add to tea, then pour back through sieve.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturers instructions.