There is a great summer drink that is universal ICED TEA. It offers so many varieties. You can add to it or put in some zing or make it healthier. Enjoy the summer season and make some to enjoy at home, sit back and do some serious sipping!
Lemonade Iced Tea
This refreshing drink combines two summer favorites, lemonade and iced tea. Turn this into a cocktail by adding Sour Puss Lemon Liquor or spiced dark rum.
Ingredients
3 cups water
2 family-size tea bags or 8 reg. sized ones.
1 (1-oz.) package fresh mint leaves (about 1 cup loosely packed)
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cold water
1 (6-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
Garnish: fresh citrus slices
Preparation
1. Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags, and stir in fresh mint. Cover and steep 10 minutes.
2. Remove and discard tea bags and mint. Stir in sugar until dissolved.
3. Pour tea into a 3-qt. container, and stir in 4 cups cold water and lemonade concentrate. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.
4. Sour Puss-Lemonade Iced Tea: Prepare recipe as directed, and stir in 1-cup liquor. Makes 9 cups.
5. Spiced Dark Rum-Lemonade Iced Tea: Prepare recipe as directed, and stir in 1 cup spiced dark rum. Makes 9 cups.
Sparkling Iced Tea
The following recipe will make two liters of sparkling iced tea.
3 cups water
2 tea bags (choose a green tea or an herbal tea that you like)
2 lemons
2 limes
1/4 cucumber, sliced
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 liter low sodium club soda or Seltzer
Ice cubes
Boil water and let it cool for 10 minutes. Add the tea bags and half of the mint leaves and let it steep for five to ten minutes. This will make a less bitter tea mixture, which makes a perfect iced tea.
Squeeze the lemons and limes, reserving a few slices for decoration; add the lemon and limejuice to the tea infusion. When the mixture has cooled down, add the cucumber slices and the remainder of the mint leaves.
Mix 1 part of the tea infusion with 1 part of soda just before serving. Decorate with mint leaves, a lime or lemon slice and some cucumber slices.
Iced Tea!
20 | Spa Life E-Magazine Summer 2014