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Homemade green tea sorbet served in a bowl
Fresh and aromatic homemade green tea sorbet

Zen Green Tea Sorbet

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Vegetarian & Vegan Dishes Cakes and Desserts
The clean, grassy, slightly bitter taste of green tea is the perfect base for a not-too-sweet, 'grown-up' dessert. It brings the calm of Japanese tea ceremonies in frozen form. The tea's tannins (astringency), combined with lemon and sugar, cleanse the palate excellently after a rich meal.
🕒 Prep Time 15 mins
🍳 Cook Time 5 mins
⌛ Total Time 4 hrs 20 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 135 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Japanese / Asian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Teapot or heatproof pitcher
  • Saucepan
  • Shallow freezer dish
  • Fork

Instructions

1 ✓

Brew the tea: pour hot (but not boiling!) water over tea leaves, steep for 3 minutes, then strain. Let cool.

Tip: If over-steeped, tea tannins leach out, giving an unpleasant bitter taste.
2 ✓

Make syrup: heat the 1 1/4 cups water, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Tip: Sugar syrup gives body to sorbet; plain water would just freeze into ice cubes.
3 ✓

Stir honey into the still warm syrup (to melt), then once everything is cold, add tea and lemon juice.

Tip: Honey's floral notes complement green tea's grassy flavor beautifully.
4 ✓

Pour into shallow dish, place in freezer.

Tip: Taste before freezing: it should be slightly sweeter than you'd like, as cold dulls sweet perception.
5 ✓

Stir every half hour with a fork, breaking ice, until slushy (approx 4 hours).

Tip: A granita-like, coarser texture suits this dessert well.
6 ✓

Serve garnished with mint.

Tip: Best after heavy meals due to its refreshing effect.

Recipe FAQ

What tea should I use?
Good quality loose leaf green tea (e.g., Sencha) or matcha powder. Bagged tea often tastes bitter and dusty.
It became too bitter.
You steeped the leaves too long or used water that was too hot. Green tea should be made with 160-175°F water and steeped for only 2-3 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Strong brewed green tea (from 2 bags or 2 tsp tea)
  • 1 1/4 cups Water (for syrup)
  • 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp Honey
  • 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 5 leaves Mint (for garnish)