Summer Iced Tea Recipes

Summer Iced Tea

6 green tea bags
4 cups of boiling water
1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
1 cup pineapple juice
1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice, — thawed
10 cups cold water
fresh mint (to garnish)

Directions:

1. Steep tea bags in the 4 cups of boiling water for about 5 mins; discard tea bags.
2. In a one-gallon pitcher combine tea and remaining ingredients.
3. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint if desired.

makes 1 gallon.

Orange Mint Lemonade

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup fresh mint leaves
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 6 lemons
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
fresh orange or lemon slices and sprigs of mint for garnish

Directions:

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
2. Place mint leaves in a small bowl; add sugar syrup, orange juice, lemon juice, and grated orange peel. Cover and let steep for 1 hour. Strain into a 1-quart container; cover and keep refrigerated.
3. To serve, mix 1 part lemon mint mixture with 2 parts water. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon or orange slices and sprigs of mint if desired.

Makes about 1-quart syrup, or 3 quarts of lemonade.

Jamaica Flower (Hibiscus) Iced Tea

4 cups water
1/2 cup dried Jamaica flowers
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
Another 3 cups of cold water
1 lime, thinly sliced

If you prefer, you can sweeten with any natural sweetener of your choice including honey in place of granulated sugar.

Directions:

1. First off, pick out a pot that won’t stain. Hibiscus has the potential to stain just about anything it comes in contact with including your countertop, cookware, wooden spoons, favorite jeans, etc. So keep this in mind.
2. Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove water from heat and add the dried flowers and sugar. Place a lid over the pot and steep for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice along the way to break down the sugar granules.
3. Pour the infusion through a strainer into a pitcher or jug (this is usually where something gets stained). You are going to want to add about 3 more cups of cold water to the pitcher.
4. Taste and adjust based on your personal preference. You can add a bit more sugar if you think you need it, or more water if you feel like the Jamaica is too overpowering. This is usually just about right for my taste. I don’t like the sugar to overpower the refreshing natural tartness of the Jamaica flower.
5. Cool completely and serve with plenty of ice in glasses garnished with a slice of lime.

Serves 8.

Moroccan Mint Iced Tea

Mint tea, made with spearmint, is the traditional drink of Morocco and North Africa. A few leaves of fresh or dried lemon verbena add a lovely citrus flavor. Be sure to use Chinese green tea, such as Gunpowder Green, Young Hyson, or Formosa Oolong. For a lighter minty flavor, remove the mint sprigs before chilling. This tea is traditionally very sweet, but use less sugar, if desired.

8 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon loose Chinese green tea
25 fresh mint sprigs (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar

Directions:

1. Combine water and tea in a medium bowl; cover and steep 2 1/2 minutes.
2. Strain tea mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard tealeaves.
3. Add mint; steep 5 minutes. Add sugar; stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Cool completely. Serve over ice.

Serves 8.