Plum and Cardamom Iced Tea
Author: 
Serves: about 8-10
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. italian prune plums, very ripe (the small, oblong kind)
  • ¾ - 1 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste
  • 3 - 4 pods green cardamom, crushed against a flat surface to crack them open and reveal their seeds
  • 6 - 8 cups strongly brewed black tea, to taste
  • Sprigs of mint for garnish (optional)
Instructions
  1. Add the plums and sugar -- start with ¾ cup -- to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the plums have given up their juices and the syrup has turned from gold, to pink, to a deep red. Once the plums are soft enough, you can speed the process by smashing them against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon.
  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the smashed cardamom (pods and seeds). Let steep for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, tasting now and then until the cardamom flavor is as strong as you like it (I suggest aiming for "clearly present but not overpowering.")
  3. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the cardamom and plum pulp. You should have about 1½ cups. Taste, and stir in more sugar if you feel the syrup isn't sweet enough.
  4. Store in a jar or other lidded container in the fridge until completely chilled, and up to two weeks.
  5. Brew a large pot of your favorite black tea, and chill well. You can mix the syrup in while the tea is hot, or let it all chill first.
  6. Stir together the syrup and tea in a pitcher. Taste, and add more tea, or more sugar, to your liking. (If you add sugar at this point, be sure to let it dissolve fully before tasting and adding more.) Store in the fridge, and when you're ready to serve, add ice. Stir before serving.
Notes
If you can't find prune plums, you can definitely try making this with other kinds of plums (or other stone fruit), adjusting the sweetness as needed.

If you aren't a fan of cardamom, you can leave it out altogether, or experiment with using other flavors in its place. A few I considered were lavender, ginger, or vanilla. For lavender or ginger, I suggest following the recipe as written (using maybe a tsp. of dried lavender or a few thin slices of ginger), but for vanilla I would add a pod (cut and seeds scraped) into the pot at the beginning.

This syrup is great in iced or hot tea. For the latter, I like to add just a tablespoon or two to one mug at a time. The syrup is also great over yogurt or ice cream, or stirred into sparkling water for a homemade soda. Come to think of it, you may want to mix some into iced tea, and save the rest in the fridge for other uses!
Recipe by Will Cook For Friends at https://www.willcookforfriends.com/2016/09/plum-and-cardamom-iced-tea.html