Amber reverie

A refined non-alcoholic chai and rooibos mocktail balanced with citrus and honey, finished with a delicate sparkling lift. The drink is warm, aromatic and elegantly structured.

SERVES 2

Moderate

30 minutes + 20 minutes clarification time

10 min

RECIPE DEVELOPED BY:

Jude Langmead - ICA third year student specialising in Professional Wine Studies

STYLING & PHOTOGRAPHY:

Louis Feldscher - ICA third year student specialising in Media Communication

WINE PAIRING:

ROOIBOS AND CHAI HONEY ELIXIR

310ml (1¼ cups / 310g) water

5g rooibos tea leaves

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

2 star anise

1 strip orange peel

35ml (7 tsp / 50g) So Natural Orange Blossom Honey

pinch of salt

CLARIFIED CITRUS

30ml (2 tbsp / 30g) milk

80ml (⅓ cup / 80g) orange juice

30ml (2 tbsp / 30g) lemon juice

SALINE SOLUTION

80ml (⅓ cup / 80g) water

20g salt

TO SERVE

handful ice

125ml (½ cup / 125g) So Natural Lemon Chai Jun or sparkling water

4–6 drops saline solution

For the rooibos and chai honey elixir, boil the water to 95°C. Add the rooibos tea leaves and steep, 4 minutes.
Strain the tea and add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and orange peel. Infuse, 15 minutes.
Strain and stir in the So Natural Orange Blossom Honey and salt until dissolved. Chill completely.
For the clarified citrus, warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat, 2 minutes.
Pour the orange juice and lemon juice into the warm milk and allow to curdle, 20 minutes.
Strain through a muslin cloth, then through a coffee filter until clear.
For the saline solution, stir the water and salt together until dissolved, 1 minute.
To serve, add ice to 2 serving glasses. Add 3 tablespoons of the rooibos and chai honey elixir to each serving glass.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of the clarified citrus to the glasses. Stir to combine.
Top each glass with the So Natural Lemon Chai Jun or sparkling water.
Add 2–3 drops of saline solution to each glass and gently stir once to combine.

TIP: Chill the elixir and clarified citrus well before assembling to keep the drink crisp and prevent the ice from melting too quickly.

As part of our annual ICA 3^rd year student specialisation project, ICA collaborated with @so_natural_sa (So Natural), a Stellenbosch-based brand known for its locally sourced nuts, artisan nut butters, raw honey, Medjool dates, pomegranate juice and Kombucha Jun.

Students worked with the So Natural product range to develop creative recipes that highlighted natural ingredients and product versatility.

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