Green Tea Pomegranate Popsicles

That's it. I totally jinxed myself by posting an ode to fall weather. It was 94°F last week and I've got the air conditioning back on. 

Last week I was studying for my veterinary technician licensing exam, and I decided I would pop out for a break and get a hot tea and a bit of a change of scenery at Starbucks. My pooch loves hanging outside Starbucks, I could get some fresh air and some studying tackled, it'll be great right?

Yeah, no. Sweating is not conducive to studying.

So I took the pooch for a short walk, and came back inside to make myself a cool treat. With a bunch of pomegranates on my counter courtesy of my grandmother's tree, I was envisioning the pomegranate juice ice pops that my grandfather would make for us every year. But then I realized that I have no way of extracting the juice besides the old-fashioned and very messy way. 

Here's what I came up with instead.

I've talked recently about my love of tea, but I don't think I talked about how much I love genmaicha (玄米茶) specifically. "Genmaicha" literally means "brown rice tea" because it has roasted grains of rice in it. I love how some of the grains of rice will pop into what looks like miniature popcorn. Originally, it was consumed mostly by poor people, the rice was added as an inexpensive filler to make the tea last longer. Of course, it's so tasty that now everyone drinks it. Contrary to most green tea, where you will use cooler water than black tea, you use boiling water for this tea without ruining any of the flavor, however you will steep for a very short time (30-45 seconds).

If you have a Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you will need to chill the mixture as directed. If you have a traditional pop mold, you can skip this step. 

FYI: Yeah I killed that test, and ended up getting sick immediately afterwards. I think I won the battle, but stress won the war.

Genmaicha Green Tea Pomegranate Popsicles

I am great at making a mess

Adapted from Ice Pops

2 cups of just boiled water
2 tsp of genmaicha green tea (or your fave type of green tea)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp of lemon juice
1 tbs honey
1/2 cup pomegranate arils, or more

Brew the green tea by placing the genmaicha in the hot water for about 45 seconds, or to desired strength. Mix with the sugar, lemon juice, and honey. Chill in the freezer for about an hour or two, or leave in the fridge for several hours. Divide the pomegranate arils evenly between your popsicles molds, and pour in the green tea mixture. I don't usually measure the arils, because I end up eating so many as I'm removing them from the pith. Whatever survives, gets shoved in.

 See Also:
Arnold Palmer Popsicles
Kero Kero Pop! Midori Sour Popsicles
Yuen Yeung Popsicles