Beat the summer heat with homemade iced tea recipes using fresh herbs, fruit, and flowers. Try mint and chamomile tea, Thai tea with condensed milk, Long Island iced tea, or peach iced tea with nectar or peach juice. Get creative and enjoy the taste of summer.
As temperatures warm and the skies light up, thoughts can turn to refreshing food and drink that captures the essence of the season. What’s better to beat the intense summer heat than a sparkling pitcher of homemade iced teaWhile it’s simple to use a mix or throw a bunch of tea bags in a mason jar, the iced tea recipes allow you to use fresh, seasonal herbs, fruit and flowers to capture the taste of summer in a bottle.
One of the freshest and most refreshing iced tea recipes calls for a simple herb that you may have sitting in your garden. Mint, a low-growing plant with crinkled leaves, offers a fresh, minty flavor. Boil about two handfuls of mint in water and add a few plain herbal tea bags like chamomile tea. Let the tea steep for about 15-20 minutes, or longer for a stronger flavor.
Pour the mint tea mixture into a pitcher of iced tea and fill with water and ice. For a fruit-flavored version, use half water and half lemonade. This iced tea recipe is sure to leave you cold no matter what the thermometer says.
For those who enjoy an exotic trip to the tropics in their glass, try Thai Tea Spicy Iced Tea Recipes. Visit an Asian grocery store to get Thai tea leaves or bags, then add boiling water. The tea should be steeped until it is a deep orange color, about five minutes. Add the white or raw sugar and stir until dissolved; the tea should be sweet enough. In a tall glass filled with ice, pour half the tea, then top up the rest with cream or condensed milk.
For some, the only iced tea recipes worth knowing are preceded by the words “Long Island.” Warning, this alcoholic concoction has a kick that might surprise your average tea drinker and contains no real tea! In a tall glass, combine equal parts tequila, gin, rum and triple sec, then top up the rest with soda and lemonade. Drink deeply, but very, very carefully.
Summer isn’t summer without a peach bounty. Step away from the calorie-laden cakes and cobblers and quench your thirsty throat with a chilled glass. This peach iced tea recipe has a base of orange pekoe or other fruit-flavored tea steeped in a pitcher of iced tea. Add nectar or peach juice to taste, sweetening with sugar or acidifying with lemon juice as desired. Fill to the brim and let sit for several hours or overnight to blend the flavors.
Really great iced tea recipes only require one thing: imagination! Take advantage of local and seasonal fruits to make fresh tea, and don’t be afraid to try unusual flavor combinations. To really get that summery feeling, place a pitcher in the warm sunshine for you to rest in the morning, then enjoy as the sunset approaches and the air begins to cool.
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