This is what I drank after a long hot sweaty bike ride in Beijing.

I have a $25 one-speed from the local Carrefour which I am supposed to leisurely pedal. Cheap one-speeds are not meant to go fast. Sometimes I forget this, especially when I go to my favorite grocery stores that happen to be half an hour away by bike. My tendencies to zip by old men on their Flying Pigeons and come home glowing with perspiration I blame on having commuted to work by road bike on New York's Greenway, alongside the multitude of spandex-clad cyclists. Here, there is no spandex in sight to make you feel the need to ride fast. Everyone just glides gently along with grocery-filled baskets.

So until I learn to slow down, I am keeping a pitcher of something cold and a tray of ice cubes ready in the fridge. Today I cooked down a pound of black cherries, added some lemon juice and sugar, infused the liquid with a bit of star anise, and mixed in some strong black tea. The star anise adds just a touch of unexpected spice to the fruity tea. This batch should hopefully last a few days.

The hardest part is not snacking on the cherries before you start making the tea.

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Other summer coolers:

Alcoholic:
Apple Soju Cocktail
Vodka-Thyme Lemonade

Virgin:
Ginger-Mint Lemonade
Mango Mojito
Yangmei Iced Tea
Coconut and Lime Lassi, Mango and Cardamom Lassi

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Black Cherry Iced Tea
Adapted from Food & Wine

2 quarts water
1 pound fresh black cherries, rinsed and pitted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 whole star anise
5 bags black tea, steeped in 2 cups water
Mint sprigs for garnish

Bring water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Add cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and star anise. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cherries are almost falling apart. Turn off heat, mix in black tea, and let stand for 1 hour to cool.

Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve, mashing the cherries with a wooden spoon to extract more liquid. Discard solids. Transfer liquid to a pitcher and refridgerate until ready to serve, such as after a long hot summer bike ride.