World Refill Day: Iced Coffee & Iced Tea Recipes

World Refill Day is the 16th of June! World Refill Day is a global public awareness campaign to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste.

We try to minimise on plastic pollution wherever possible, from using recyclable and biodegradable materials in our packaging to using compostable rice starch to protect products in shipping. We also promote the use of "Re-ewes-able" products, such as our flasks, water bottles, and shopping bags.

Most people, we assume, who use our Herdy Travel Mug would obviously fill it with a hot brew of tea or coffee. But did ewe know the Herdy Travel Mugs are also great for taking refreshing cold drinks with you on the go?

We've put together a couple of recipes to tantalise your tastebuds and invigorate your imagination: one for Iced Coffee, and another for Iced Tea.

Try them out, and let us know what you think!

Herdy's Iced Coffee recipe

What you will need to make Herdy's Iced Coffee

• Double espresso, or 140 ml of instant coffee
• 1 big scoop or 150–200 ml of your favourite ice cream (start with vanilla and feel free to experiment from there)
• 150 ml of cold water
• A couple of ice cubes and enough milk to top up the Travel Mug
• Cocoa or cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Products used in this recipe

Roam Free Travel Mug

If you don't have an espresso maker or similar at home, or you just don't like espresso drinks, feel free to replace with 140 ml of cafetière/french pressed coffee or instant. We're not here to judge. Once you've made the brew, allow it to cool down.

Ice cream preferences are as personal and individual as favourite songs; we've specified a "safe" option of vanilla ice cream, but you can swap this out for other flavours you enjoy. Chocolate? Hazelnut? Mint? Pistachio? Go for it.

Those of the vegan/plant-based persuasion can of course swap out any dairy ice cream and milk with plant-based alternatives. Likewise, this recipe works absolutely fine with no/low-sugar ice creams such as those sweetened with stevia, monk fruit sugar, or sugar alcohols.

Start with your ice cream and pour the coffee over them. Add an ice cube or two, and top up with water and milk of your choice. Sprinkle some cocoa powder or ground cinnamon on top for a little extra frisson of delight. Then you can just poke a silicon straw through the lid of your Herdy Travel Mug, and screw the lid on. Enjoy!

Herdy's Iced Tea recipe

What you need to make Herdy's Iced Tea

• 1 Herdy mug of tea, your preference
• 2 slices of lemon
• 2 slices of lime
• 2 slices of orange
• One or two ice cubes
• Brown/demerara sugar

Black tea paired with citrus is a time-honoured classic. In Britain a lot of us enjoy Earl Grey Tea, which is a black tea flavoured with oil of bergamot, from the bergamot orange fruit. Ramping up the citrus element with a cooled-down tea plus some ice really makes the drink exceedingly refreshing in the warmer summer months.

Not only that, black tea is known for lowering blood cholesterol and decreasing blood pressure, whilst citrus fruits contain antioxidants and are high in Vitamin C.

For the tea base, use whichever brand or type of tea you like, at the strength you prefer. We do recommend a black tea of some sort though, as the flavour stands up well to the sharp citrus fruits.

When it comes to the citrus, feel free to include or exclude the fruits you prefer. We went with orange, lemon, and lime for their ready availability. Try to include some extra rind as well; the rind contains the essential citrus oils that will heavily flavour the drink.

As the tea is primarily bitter, and the citrus adds acidity, you may want to mellow  down the more astringent flavours by adding a little sugar. We recommend a nice brown or demerara sugar for those caramel notes. Feel free to replace with low/non-sugar sweeteners such as Stevia.

Brew your tea of choice in a Herdy mug, add sugar to your liking, and allow it cool down. Then add an ice cube or two and mix in your citrus. Stir it all around and give it a minute or two to allow the flavours to blend and the oils from the citrus to seep into the drink. Stick a silicon or paper straw through your Herdy Travel Mug lid and screw it on. Voila!

Give these recipes a try

Hopefully these recipes will give you some ideas for cooler refreshing drinks to enjoy in your Herdy Travel Mug, which you can use again and again. It’s vacuum insulated, so it will keep your tea and coffee hot for hours, but it also works equally well with cold drinks.

If you try out these recipes, let us know! But if you have any refreshing cool summer drinks you enjoy, then share with the class. Or you you can join the flock on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or write us an email.