Tiki Tea Time (Cocktail recipe)

When warm weather hits, sometimes I just want something light and refreshing to quench my thirst on a Sunday afternoon when I'm relaxing at home. This recipe, at first, started out innocent enough as just a fully-charged tea with ginger and lemon zest. Then some spiced rum got in the mix somehow and I ended up really enjoying what it became. I'm more than happy to share.

Here's what you'll need:
2 oz. knob of fresh ginger
Zest of 1 lemon (a potato peeler works just fine for this)
Zest of 1/2 orange (potato peeler works here as well)
Juice of 1 lemon (squeezing with your hands is fine)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 oz. mint simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 packet or 1 tsp. loose black tea of your choice
2 oz. Kraken Spiced Rum

Mint Simple Syrup Recipe:
Boil 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar until all the sugar is dissolved.
Turn heat off, add fresh mint and let steep for at least 2 hours.
Strain, let cool and pour into a reusable container.
This can keep in the freezer indefinitely. Due to the sugar content, it won't freeze solid; it will remain slushy. So you can spoon what you need for next time and keep it in the freezer.

Here's what you'll do:
- Boil 2 cups water in a medium pot. Then turn heat off.
- Peel the ginger with a spoon, roughly chop and add to hot water.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon and orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom.
- Let steep for at least 15 minutes.
- Add tea packet or leaves and let steep for 3 minutes (if water is too cool, turn the heat on for 2 minutes, then turn off)
- Strain tea and let cool. Add mint simple syrup, adjusting more or less to your taste.
- When ready to serve, pour 2 oz. rum into a highball glass filled with ice and pour tea to the top.
- For a color effect, pour the tea in first and then slowly pour the rum on top.
- Stir, add a straw and enjoy!