(Non-Alcoholic) Ginger-Basil Tea Sangria

This is a new favorite of mine. Absolutely lovely. My only regret in creating this gorgeous sip of sparkling freedom is that I didn't think of it until summer was pretty much over. (If you're up north, this sentence will not make sense. But if you're here in the south, you understand that "summer" is a period lasting from April to October.) But I think you could play around with the current fall-ish flavors and come up with something equally beautiful (remember rule number 6? Shop in season!).

Ginger-Basil Tea Sangria
$0.36 per serving/$2.86 total cost

8 tea bags

2 cups boiling water

1 generous pinch baking soda

Fresh fruit (I used 1 fresh peach, sliced, and a handful of whole frozen strawberries)

1 cup basil simple syrup (recipe below)

1 cup apple juice

2 cups cool water

Ginger ale

Steep tea bags in solution of baking soda dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Place fruit in pitcher, discard tea bags, and pour tea over fruit. Add basil syrup, apple juice, and 2 cups of cool water. Stir to combine and place in refrigerator until cold. When ready to serve, fill glasses 3/4 of the way with sangria. Fill glasses the rest of the way with ginger ale and serve.

Basil Simple Syrup
$0.75, total cost (If you have to buy basil. I grew mine, so my cost was $0.25)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4-6 fresh basil leaves

In a small saucepot over medium heat, combine sugar and water until dissolved. Add basil leaves and bring mixture to a boil. Continue to boil for 1 minute, remove from heat. When syrup has cooled, decant into a glass or plastic container, pouring through a fine-mesh strainer to remove leaves. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

"Baking soda? Really?": Yes, really. It takes away the bitter edge that iced tea sometimes takes on, leaving a really smooth finish. It's nice. Trust me.

If you don't like basil: ...feel free to use another flavor. Vanilla, maybe. Or peppermint. Or thyme. Go bananas (I'm speaking colloquially. Banana syrup in tea sangria sounds kinda gross.).

Garnish: I served mine in mason jars (which double as drinking glasses around here) with a sprig of basil. I was thinking, though, that serving this in tall glasses rimmed with sugar would be nice, too. To do that, just dip the rim of the glass in the sangria and then spin them in a saucer of sugar. 'Twould be pretty. :)

Now go make some tea sangria. It's better than Dr. Pepper. Maybe.