Be transported with alcohol-free cocktails

Exotic iced tea drinks made by Tea Sommelier Benjamin McManus from the Langham Hotel. Photo / Babiche Martens

Drinking iced tea has an air of the exotic; think India and long sultry evenings. That's why we couldn't resist the latest concoctions created by The Langham Hotel's tea sommelier, Benjamin McManus. Head to new lobby bar Palm Court and be transported with these cooling alcohol-free cocktails, with names like The Green Samurai, Pharaoh of the Orient, Afghan Kewah and Rose C'est la Vie. Make your own Darjeeling Fling, with McManus' recipe below.

DARJEELING FLING
This delicious refreshing tea is prepared double strength the night before then mixed carefully with fresh, seasonal stone fruit such as peaches, plums and cherries along with ice and sweetener (try a light multi-floral honey) to taste.

Ingredients
• Summer Flush Darjeeling tea leaves
• Ripe pieces of stone fruit with the skin on (cherries, nectarine, peaches)
• Fruit syrup
• Multi-floral honey to taste
• Filtered water for boiling
• Fruit ice or fresh ice
• A pitcher

1. Boil water and let it cool slightly to 90°C.

2. Infuse the tea in the filtered water for 4-5 minutes.

3. Strain the leaves then let the tea cool and chill overnight.

4. Fill a glass with ice then add stone fruit followed by the chilled tea.

5. Add a splash of fruit nectar syrup and sweetener to taste as well as the fruit ice. Serve with a straw for a cooling summer brew.

Some iced tea tips:
- Source good organic tea from Darjeeling (Summer Flush is a seasonal tea).

- To make a double strength brew, the tea to water ratio is 6-8 scoops of tea to 1 litre of water.

- For the ice, use fruit syrup or regular filtered water that's been boiled and blended with fresh fruit to form a smooth consistency.

- Make a tray of fruit ice and keep it in the freezer for when you next need it.

- VIVA