Green Tea and Lemon Granita

A Heart-Healthy Summer Recipe

When life throws lemons at you, make granita. And if you're making granita, make it with green tea — because this is one of those rare recipes where something genuinely good for you also happens to taste wonderful on a hot Andalucían afternoon.

Green tea panna cotta — Casa Adora

Why Green Tea is Good for Your Heart

Green tea has been earning its health reputation for centuries, and the science backs it up. Experts credit compounds called flavonoids with stopping blood platelets from forming clots, much as aspirin does. Over 30% of the dry weight of green tea leaves consists of powerful flavonoid antioxidants, which researchers have found can block cholesterol absorption and increase the breakdown of triglycerides — a potentially harmful blood fat — while also having a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

The numbers are striking. Compared with non-tea drinkers, having just four cups of green tea per day appears to halve the risk of heart attack. The incidence of stroke is halved in people drinking at least five cups daily. A Japanese study of 40,000 healthy men and women found that over an 11-year period, those drinking five or more cups a day were 16% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

Four to five cups a day is a lot of tea. A green tea and lemon granita is a rather more enjoyable way to get there.

My love of green tea goes back further than most. In 2012 I travelled to Yunnan Province in China, close to the Burmese border, searching for wild tea trees in the mountains at 7,500 feet above sea level. It was there I first understood what green tea really is — not a teabag in a mug but something ancient, complex, and worth taking seriously. You can read about that adventure here.

Green tea panna cotta — Casa Adora

Green Tea and Lemon Granita Recipe

This couldn't be simpler — no special equipment, just a bowl, a freezer, and a fork.

• 500ml organic green tea
• 150ml honey
• 3 large lemons, zested and juiced (approximately 150ml juice)

Heat the tea and honey together, stirring until fully combined. Add the lemon juice and zest to a bowl, then pour in the tea and honey mixture. Stir well and place in the freezer. Every 30 minutes, stir and scrape with a fork until the liquid has crystallised into a slightly slushy, icy texture. Serve in chilled glasses on a hot day.

Simple, refreshing, and quietly doing your heart a favour.

If you'd rather drink your green tea than eat it, my Green Tea and Lemon Granita is the icy, heart-healthy alternative. And if you want the full story of where this tea came from, Indiana Morrison in China has the mountains, the monks, and the chicken's feet.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef