Cherry is one of those sweet fruits that should really be in more recipes. There is just so much to love about cherries. From the deep red color of black cherries to the sweet fruity taste of a fresh cherry, it is a fruit that is irresistible.
We wanted to capture the delicious taste of cherries in a smoothie. However, we also wanted to give the smoothie a little bit of a twist. We added black cherry berry herbal tea to our smoothie mix. Let us tell you now that a tea smoothie is going to be your new favorite drink!

Is Cherry a Berry?

Is a cherry a berry? It sure looks a lot like a berry. But, a cherry is not actually a berry. They are small and bite sized like most berries. However, cherries have a single pit in the center. It is the pit that causes a cherry to be classified as a drupe, not a berry.

To be considered a berry, a fruit needs to be completely edible, with small edible seeds and no core or pit in the center. Think of raspberries, blackberries and strawberries as perfect examples. They all have very small, edible seeds and they all are solid fruits with no core or pits.

A cherry definitely isn’t the same. That hard pit should not be eaten! Instead, cherries are considered drupes. Other drupes include peaches, almonds and avocados. No matter what category of fruit a cherry falls into, we know that we still love it!

Types of Cherries

There are quite a few types of cherries out there. You can find dozens of different varieties of cherries even in your local grocery store. Let us tell you a little bit about the most common types of cherries.

Black Cherry- Black cherries are sweet tasting and incredibly juicy. They are delicious fresh or tossed into a smoothie like this one!
Red Cherries- Red cherries are a little less sweet than black cherries. They are also slightly crunchier. They are still great to eat as a snack or to use in recipes.
Tart Cherries- Tart cherries and sour cherries are used to make juice or dried for using in recipes. They are very sour but still have great cherry flavor.
Golden Cherries- Golden cherries are a beautiful yellow color which makes them quite unique. They have a creamy flesh and are a little crunchy. Golden cherries are delicious to eat fresh or used in your favorite cherry berry smoothie recipe!

Within these main categories of cherries, there are hundreds of cherry varieties. Give a few types a try and see which you love best.

Tea Smoothies

Lots of smoothie recipes use water or milk to thin out the smoothie, making it the perfect texture. Tea smoothies replace the liquid ingredients in a smoothie with tea. There are a lot of benefits to using tea in a smoothie and we know you will be hooked on tea once you try our cherry berry herbal tea smoothie.

Not only does adding tea to a smoothie add a lot of flavor, but it also adds even more nutritional benefits. Smoothies can be pretty healthy already but, with the addition of tea, they are even more incredible.

Our black cherry berry tea smoothie uses herbal tea. Herbal tea does not contain caffeine and is actually considered to have calming effects. Tea is known to boost your immune system and also reduce pain and muscle soreness. Herbal tea can also improve your digestive system and stimulate brain function.

Imagine all of these benefits blended into a delicious, cherry berry smoothie. Sounds pretty incredible, right? Well, it is!

Cherry Berry Smoothie Ingredients

Our cherry berry smoothie is made with some really delicious ingredients. Take a look at what we put into our smoothie and why we chose each thing.

Black cherries- Black cherries are the sweetest and juiciest type of cherry. You can also find black cherries in most grocery stores when cherries are in season. If you are making a cherry berry smoothie in the winter, look for frozen cherries which will work just as well.
Frozen raspberries, blueberries and strawberries- Frozen berries add a lot of flavor to the smoothie. We love the blend of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. You can usually find this exact mix of berries in the frozen food section of your grocery store. Frozen berries work best as they make the smoothie thick and cold.
Black Cherry Berry Herbal Tea- We love using black cherry berry herbal tea from Celestial Seasonings. It has a bright, fruit flavor that is just a little tart and naturally sweet. Use one tea bag to brew 1 cup of tea. Let the tea bag steep for about 5 minutes then squeeze the water out of the bag to get as much flavor as possible from the tea bag. Let the tea cool completely before adding it to the blender.
Honey- Honey is a perfect, natural sweetener. It has a rich, sweet taste and blends right into any smoothie.
Vanilla- Vanilla extract is rich and flavorful. The taste of cherry and vanilla is a classic combination.

Feel free to switch up the frozen berries in this recipe. Black berries will add a deep color and flavor while red currants would give the smoothie a nice tart flavor. Use whatever you have in season.

How to Make a Cherry Berry Smoothie with Tea

Making our cherry berry tea smoothie is extremely easy. First, you need to brew and chill the black cherry berry herbal tea. You can make the tea ahead of time and store it in your fridge. The brewed cherry berry tea will keep for about a week in the fridge. Having it chilled and ready to use will enable you to have a tasty smoothie whenever you’d like, no waiting at all!

Make sure your berries are all frozen. Our smoothie has no ice which gives it a much stronger flavor. However, you need those frozen berries to make the smoothie cold and thick. You can even freeze the cherries to make the smoothie thicker and colder.

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and puree on high speed. Make sure to really let the smoothie blend so there are no fruit pieces.

Pour the smoothies into tall glasses and serve with a straw. Add a little whipped cream to make the smoothie even more decadent. No one can resist a cherry berry smoothie with whipped cream!

While a cherry is not a berry, it is quite tasty when mixed with berries. Our delicious cherry berry tea smoothie is a great way to get all that cherry berry taste you crave in a delicious tea smoothie. Tea smoothies are a fun new twist on a classic drink that we know you will love. Give this cherry berry smoothie recipe a try and let us know what you think! We sure love it.