Milky Tea Ice Cream

Michigan winters are brutal, it’s true. Especially this last one. But truth be told, I wouldn’t want to live in a temperate-all-year climate.

Because the brutal winters make me all like “OMGEEEE PURE MICHIGAN! BEACH! SUN! BIKE RIDES! DOG WALKS! REPEAT!” in the few short summer months of the year.

So far this summer, the bike rides and dog walks have been plentiful, I’ve taken a trip with my mom to the Charlevoix area for bike riding and beach time, and am heading to South Haven with my two best girlfriends this week for more beach time and sun.

Seriously. I must make the most of it.

The Pure Michigan love doesn’t end when my little vacations end, however. Mitten Crate delivered a big box of Michigan-made love in June, including:

• Joseph Wesley Great Lakes Blend Black Tea
• Lush Gourmet Foods Coconut Lavender Handcrafted Almonds
• BolaJoe Cafe Mocha Oatmeal
• Apolonia Natural Dressing Greek Vinaigrette
• Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen Fresh Water Taffy
• J.J. Lomonaco Sicilian Cookies

When I saw the tea, I immediately thought about re-purposing it into something other than a cup of tea.

Other than the occasional cardamom tea latte, I’m not much of a tea drinker, since my day revolves around numerous cups of hot and cold coffee (and ice cream + coffee, ala affogato coffee). Still, the tea was too nice to let go to waste.

Since no food is better suited to a hot Michigan summer than ice cream (hello, banana pancake ice cream and blueberry cheesecake ice cream), I decided to use some of the tea bags to flavor homemade ice cream.

The result is a creamy and rich vanilla-based ice cream that is lightly flavored with tea.

I used another item from the crate – Lush Gourmet Foods Coconut Lavender Handcrafted Almonds – as a garnish for the finished tea ice cream.

And not gonna lie, this whole situation could be even more improved by serving it in a brownie bowl, or on top of malted waffles.

This post was written by me on behalf of Mitten Crate, who provided me with a free box for recipe development purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for writing this post, and all opinions are 100% my own.