Summertime Refreshments: Earl Grey Iced Tea

It’s summer time and cool refreshing drinks are one of the things we all really enjoy on a hot summer day. Iced tea is popular all over the world in one form or another. According to Wikipedia the first printed iced tea recipes are from the 1870’s. Iced tea can be made from any kind of tea such as black tea, herbal tea, chai, Earl Grey, Jasmine, green tea or even fruit teas. Depending on the region they may be unsweetened or heavily sweetened and often served with a garnish of lemon or lime. If you drink a particular tea for health or healing benefits you also make an iced tea out of it for a nice change.  You can even make an “Arnold Palmer” or half and half of iced black tea and lemonade.

Another popular way to make iced tea is to do a Sun tea or refrigerator tea is made by adding tea bags or loose tea to a large jug of water and leaving it in the sun for several hours or in the refrigerator overnight.  There is also a variety of iced tea called Sweet Tea that is popular in the south where black tea is brewed very strong and combined with a large amount of sweetener while it’s still hot. The mixture is then diluted with water and served over ice.

You can even get creative and make teas that combine exotic flavors such as using a tart Hibiscus tea with a sweet Pomegranate juice. Another great idea is strongly brewed Green tea with a splash of Mango nectar and a mint garnish or leave out the mango and just use the Green tea and the Mint for a really refreshing drink.

Here is a great Earl Grey Iced Tea recipe you can try today:

• 1/4 cup loose Earl Grey tea, or 12 Earl Grey tea bags
• Peel of 1 orange, plus orange wedges for garnish
• 4 cups boiling water
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups cold water

How to prepare:

1. Steep loose tea (or tea bags) and orange peel in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Strain the tea (or remove tea bags and orange peel) and pour into a large pitcher. Stir in orange juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add cold water. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve over ice with orange wedges, if desired.

It’s summer, it’s hot, you can cool down and delight your taste buds by getting creative with Iced tea! Enjoy!