Summertime delights

[deborahjross]

For a couple of years now, I've been making my own iced tea. I don't usually care for carbonated beverages and our water, although pleasant in taste, gets boring. I'd tried different methods: sun tea (brewed in a big glass jar for several hours in the sun), a pot of water with tea bags, crystallized commercial iced tea or artificially sweetened mixes. Bottles/cans alway struck me as wasteful for use at home, although I will buy Arizona Green Tea with Honey for an occasional away-from-home treat (like dessert, as it's so sweet).

I've finally hit on a method I love. I use a quart canning jar in the microwave (mine takes 5 minutes). I'll add a bag of black tea to the cold water, but green tea gets bitter, so I heat the water for 3 minutes, then add 2 bags and go for another 2 minutes. Sweeten to taste, let cool. I like fruit-flavored teas like mango green tea.

For late in the day, I steer clear of even green tea. Some of the fruit herbal teas (raspberry or lemon zinger, chamomile, some of the blends from Mighty Leaf or London Herb & Tea) make marvelous cold drinks. Sort of like organic Kool-Aid, only tasting much fresher.

It's been so hot, I've been drinking -- and appreciating -- the teas a lot. Usually have 2 jars going, 1 cold, 1 cooling. I started doing this for taste, as commercial iced teas are too sweet for me, but it just occurred to me how much money I'm saving as well.

Comments

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Sumac must be East Coast, although I'm sufficiently botanically-challenged that I might not recognize it. That's what happens when you get a degree in biology when everything is test tubes and enzymes.

Mint, now . . . we have an ongoing mint-abatement program, as it's so aggressive. How long do you steep it?

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

How long do you steep it

Not long at all; it's not really an infusion, come to think of it, more just adding a bit of a flavor. I'll put it in a pitcher and pour it maybe an hour later? But then it sits in the fridge until it gets used up, so it gradually gets a little stronger--but on the other hand, I also sometimes top up the water. It's not a very strong taste, just the hint of something.