Iced Teas are a wonderful refreshing drink during the hot summer months. They are easy to make, are generally healthier than store bought drinks and you make them to suit your taste.
The beauty of it is you don’t have to go out and buy specially made teas. You can use flavours that you currently have in your cupboards for hot tea. For example, have you ever thought of chai, made with cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick poured over ice......hmmn...yummy. Then there is also rooibos tea, green tea, white tea and varying assortments of black tea and herbal teas.
Here are some good tips to follow when making that cool summer tea drink
It tastes good when made fresh. It’s easy to make so make enough only for a couple of days.
1. When tea is served cold, the flavour becomes a little dull, so it’s necessary to use a stronger tea for iced teas.
2. Use 2 tea bags for every 3 cups of water for best results.
3. Try not to over steep. Tea becomes bitter when steeped too long. If you want a stronger flavour, add more tea bags. Alternately, if you want a weaker tea, add less tea bags.
4. Allow tea to cool down before refrigerating it. Placing hot tea in the refrigerator will cause it to become cloudy. If it does become cloudy, add a bit of boiling water to it.
5. Try and use fresh ingredients, as far as possible. You will definitely notice a difference in taste. If you’re making mint tea, get fresh mint leaves from the garden. If you’re adding lemon to your tea which is always a nice touch, again use fresh lemon.
Cool Tea Picks for the Summer
If you are a little more adventurous and want to try new flavours not found in your kitchen cupboard, the best way to do that is to experience it in a sample set. This sampler pack that I have picked contains:
Classic Black Moroccan Mint Garden of Eden White Coconut Crème AND....it includes one free hemp filter bag for cold brewing.
If you are a newbie at this and want something that is easy to use and will make a quick, easy and delicious cool tea, the Iced Tea Starter Set at Golden Moon Tea, under their "Best Sellers Category" is wonderful. It includes a Bodum Ceylon Iced Tea Pitcher, a tin of their award winning Coconut Pouchong, a tin of their refreshing vanilla mint and 100 T-sac's. You can't go wrong with that!
Okay, one more quick cool tea pick before we move on to the recipes - Passionfruit Jasmine from Art of Tea - an award winning tea, it has a long lasting, sweet flavor and astounding aroma that carries well hot and as a refreshing iced tea.....had to share that one!
