Iced Green Tea

Martini on the rocks is passe. We are beating the heat with green tea on the rocks.

Green tea on ice is one of the best summer drinks.  Make it ahead of time and enjoy a little boost  of vitamin C and antioxidants in each sip.

 

 

Why home made ?  Yes, why bother making at home when you can easily buy ? The bottled iced teas are laced with preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Not to mention they are costly too.

 

Some tips

Make it strong as the ice will dilute the flavors.

Don’t use granulated sugar to sweeten the chilled tea. It will take forever to dissolve. Use sugar syrup instead ( equal parts water and sugar mixed together) or maple syrup.

Avoid fake flavors. Try mint leaves, fresh ( ripened) fruit slices, ginger slices, lemon, orange – to name a few.

Use the best available tea leaves/ bags. It’s all about the flavor.

 

You will need

3 cups water ( 8 ounce cup, so total of 24 ounces )

1 tea bag – good quality black tea or 1 teaspoon black tea leaves

2 tea bags – good quality green tea or two teaspoons green tea leaves

2 inch cinnamon stick

3-4 green cardamom pods

3 teaspoons lemon juice

Sugar as per taste ( 4 tablespoons in my case )

 

Let’s make it….

Boil the water in a small saucepan. Turn off the flame as soon as the water boils. Add tea bags, cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Let it brew for 15 minutes ( without flame ). Remove the tea bags or strain if using tea leaves. Add sugar as per taste. Lastly mix in lemon juice. Give it a nice stir.  Pour it in a jug . Let it cool or enjoy immediately by adding ice.

 

 

You may wonder why not brew the tea on flame and boil with all the ingredients? Green tea is supposed to be brewed at mild temperatures for best flavors.

In case you want to enjoy a cup of plain iced black tea, just substitute green tea with equal amounts of black tea and follow the same procedure. Or if just green tea is what you are looking for, replace the black tea with a green tea bag. The best ratio as per experts for brewing any tea is  1 teaspoon of tea leaves ( or 1 teabag) for every 8 ounces of water.

Go try your favorite tea on the rocks ;))