Iced tea is a summer staple, and for good reason: it’s refreshing, and it’s delicious. Plus, it’s a low-sugar alternative to juices and soda. Or, at least, it should be. When you buy a bottle of iced tea from the grocery store, or even order it from your favourite coffee shop, there’s a lot of unnecessary sugar being added to it, pretty much negating the healthy bonus we look for in an iced tea.
Here’s a great way to save your money and keep your iced tea sweet (but still light on the sugar), with this easy recipe. Regular iced teas are usually made with plain Assam or Ceylon black tea, but the tea we made yesterday was with an Earl Grey Ceylon, with the bergamot oil and orange peel adding a unique citrus flavour. It’s simple enough to involve your kids and your less-than-culinary-minded family members while we’re all making the best of our summer, even though this year is a little different.
That’s the thing about a drink like iced tea (forgive us for getting sentimental here). Like a hotdog at a baseball game or beavertails in cottage country, iced tea is quintessentially “summer”. A lot of things are changing, and there’s a lot that’s still uncertain about what we can do right now. Being home can make you miss traditions and memories made during summers over the years.
For us here at Sahara Tea, one of the ways we return to a bit of normalcy is by recreating a drink that reminds us of the summers that we’ve already had, and the ones we’ll have in the future. Ones where we can spend time with friends and extended family, and do the things we used to do.
That moment will come, but until then, here’s our recipe for Iced Tea with a Twist.
Ingredients:
- 3 teabags (6 teaspoons of Grey’s Gift or 3 Pyramid teabags of Earl Grey).
- 2L of cold water.
- ½ a cup of sugar, or to taste. Alternatively, agave nectar is another healthy option.
- ½ cup of lemon juice, or to taste.
Steps:
- Prepare your tea bags. Using 2 teaspoons of tea per fill and fold filter, close the filter securely.
- Steep your tea bags in 2L of cold water. You can leave it in the fridge for 6-12 hours overnight, depending on how strong you prefer your tea.
- Remove the steeped tea from the fridge, and mix in lemon juice and sugar/agave to taste.
- For a more tart flavour, add extra lemon slices!
