Bora Bora Iced Fruit Tea takes its name from the French Polynesian island, and the cup lives up to it: hibiscus gives it a tangy backbone, papaya brings sweetness, and apple, strawberry and raspberry round out a floral, citrusy, tropical character. The colour in the cup is red and light in tone.
The blend is built for double duty — a warming brew in the colder months, or an iced tea once the weather turns. That flexibility is really the point of the format. Iced tea itself can be made from black, white, green, oolong, herbal or fruit tea, and while the practice of chilling tea over ice goes back centuries, it only became widely popular after Richard Blechynden, an American vendor, began pouring his tea over ice at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis during a heatwave. That moment is often credited with kickstarting iced tea's popularity in the US.
Ingredients are hibiscus flowers, papaya cubes, apple pieces, currants, elderberries, blackcurrants, strawberry and raspberry pieces, sunflower blossoms, cornflowers and natural flavouring — a fruit tisane rather than a true tea.
To brew, use two teaspoons per person and pour freshly boiled water over the leaves so it just covers them, then steep for eight to ten minutes. Strain, then top up with cold water and ice, adding any extras or decoration you like. For a sweeter glass, stir in sugar or honey while the water is still hot.
