Chestnut Herbal School

Herbal Ice Cubes

Written and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor

Hibiscus herbal ice cubes shown in glasses with edible flowers.

Hibiscus ice cubes in water.

 

How many times have you found yourself in this embarrassingly uncomfortable situation? You invite a treasured friend over on a hot summer afternoon and reach for the herbal iced tea you have lovingly prepared from fresh aromatic herbs in your garden, but then you realize with sinking humiliation that you only have plain Jane ice cubes on hand. You wish you could just go home, but unfortunately, you are already home. So you serve the plain ice cubes anyway and brace yourself for the gossip that will surely ensue from your frigid faux pas. “ What kind of herbalist serves ordinary ice cubes with their herbal refreshments?”

Let’s totally avoid that scenario, and stock up on these fancy pants herbal ice cubes instead.

I use herbal ice cubes to flavor plain water when I have a full day to make a quick cool herbal beverage, or use them to flavor and cool herbal teas.

Calendula and wild bergamot flowers grace Schisandra-infused herbal ice cubes.

Calendula and Wild Bergamot flowers grace Schisandra-infused herbal ice cubes.


A pile of ruby-colored hibiscus ice cubes in a glass beverage dispenser.

Hibiscus ice cubes in a glass beverage dispenser.


Hibiscus Ice Cubes

I use herbal ice cubes to flavor plain water when I have a full day to make a quick cool herbal beverage, or use them to flavor and cool herbal teas.
Course Drinks
Yield 1 tray of ice

Equipment

  • Ice cube tray
  • Strainer

Ingredients
  

  • 1 quart water
  • 2 tablespoons dried calyces of hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa, Malvaceae)

Directions
 

  • Bring water to a boil and add hibiscus.
  • Let sit for twenty minutes and strain.
  • Let the tea cool before adding to ice cube trays.
Keyword Hibiscus, Ice Cubes
Tried this recipe or have questions?Leave a comment!

Try Hibiscus Mint Herbal Iced Tea with Key Lime Ice Cubes

Two glasses full of calendula and wild bergamot flowers and schisandra herbal ice cubes.

Calendula and wild bergamot flowers adorn schisandra herbal ice cubes.


Schisandra Ice Cubes

These herbal ice cubes are a light pink color and beautifully accent edible flowers, such as bee balm, calendula, wild bergamot, pansies, and violets.
Course Drinks
Yield 1 tray of ice

Equipment

  • Ice cube tray
  • Strainer

Ingredients
  

  • 1 quart water
  • 2 tablespoons schisandra (Hibiscus sabdariffa, Malvaceae)

Directions
 

  • Bring water to a boil and add schisandra.
  • Let sit for twenty minutes and strain.
  • Let the tea cool before adding to ice cube trays.
Keyword Ice Cubes, Schisandra
Tried this recipe or have questions?Leave a comment!

The fruits of Schisandra chinensis, Magnoliaceae are an important traditional Chinese medicine, and are called Wu Wei Zi, or “five flavored fruit”. I find the flavor of the tea to be mildly sour, with mild smoky and salty overtones. Schisandra is an adaptogen, anti-oxidant, cardio-tonic, immune tonic and anxiolytic. Traditionally it is used to increase Yin; I often use the berries with folks who experience a lot of dryness, with strong thirst and copious urine. Another traditional use is to help with excessive sweating and nightsweating. Schisandra is calming and uplifting for many people, and is used as a tonic in anxietous depression and as a remedy to increase concentration and focus. People who are prone to heartburn may find that schisandra aggravates this condition.

Calendula and wild bergamot ice cubes.

Calendula and wild bergamot ice cubes.


Bee balm schisandra ice cube.

Bee balm schisandra ice cube.


Hibiscus ice cube herbal tea garnished with apple mint and calendula flowers.

Hibiscus ice cube herbal tea garnished with apple mint and calendula flowers.


Calendula officinalis

Calendula officinalis.

Meet The Green Mastermind Behind Blog Castanea:

Juliet Blankespoor

JULIET BLANKESPOOR is the founder, primary instructor, and Creative Director of the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, an online school serving thousands of students from around the globe. She's a professional plant-human matchmaker and bonafide plant geek, with a degree in botany and over 30 years of experience teaching and writing about herbalism, medicine making, and organic herb cultivation. Juliet’s lifelong captivation with medicinal weeds and herb gardening has birthed many botanical enterprises over the decades, including an herbal nursery and a farm-to-apothecary herbal products business. 

These days, she channels her botanical obsession through her writing and photography in her online programs, on her personal blog Castanea, and in her new book, The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies. Juliet and her family reside in a home overrun with houseplants and books in Asheville, North Carolina.

Interested in becoming a contributor?

 

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34 thoughts on “Herbal Ice Cubes

    • Sara Kinney says:

      Dried calendula often rehydrates nicely, so I would just put the whole dried flower in some water for an hour or so and then add them to the ice cube trays.

  1. Wendy Winters says:

    Beautiful ice cubes! I immediately tried making them with what was in bloom in the garden. I picked borage, chamomile and johnny jump ups but something unexpected happened. The flowers floated to the top of the ice cube so I tried melting them and refreezing but the borage lost all its color and the flowers became flaccid.
    Any advice anyone?

    • Flowers can be so unpredictable, can’t they? Small flowers do float to the surface. You can try putting a few flowers in each ice cube, or using larger flowers. I’m sure your ice cubes will be beautiful even if some flowers float to the top.

      • Freeze small flowers in half-full ice trays, then top off the tray with more water. The flowers will be anchored in the bottom layer of ice.

  2. Sara Kinney says:

    Those are exquisite! And those are just the cutest dang calendula flowers I ever did see. Why don’t you open an herbal cafe now that your nursery is scaling back? I hear owning a restaurant is easy. 😉

  3. Darlene Jones says:

    How beautiful! Thanks so much 4 sharing stuff like this 4 those of us who are TRULY creatively & herbally challenged! Thanks 2 my Sis Joy 4 being totally terrific!

    • Christina, these are supersized glamorously large ice cubes, but smaller flowers,such as calendula pansies, violet, etc. will fit into a standard ice cube tray. The fresh flowers just look good when frozen…try it, you’ll see!

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