Beat the Heat with Tea!!

Summers are back and it’s time to beat the heat. Time has come to clean your backyard swimming pool, get lazy and just lie down in the pool. Enjoy some great summer drinks and organize a cool pool party with your friends. We should not get frustrated of summer instead we should explore ways to enjoy it!!!

But one of the common problems which we all face in summers is dehydration. It’s important to stay hydrated in the summertime heat, so you definitely want to be sure to drink lots of fluids. You can prefer juices, cool drinks and your very own favourite ICE TEA.

Hold on!!! Wait a sec…Before we move any further let’s get into the history of this refreshing drink. Iced Tea was invented back in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair when ice was added to hot tea to cool down the visitors. It is from that time that Ice tea has spread worldwide and is being consumed at a very large scale, especially in USA.

Did you know!!!

Iced tea helps to boost our immune system and also regulates cholesterol. It has certainly all the properties of tea and offers same health advantages as tea does.

Ice tea has its own holiday, although it is not widely celebrated. National Iced Tea Day is celebrated on June 10th. Not many people know that ice tea can have many variations and different drinks can be made out of ice tea.

A perfect drink for summers!!!

There is nothing perfect than having Ice Tea in the summer climate. Not only it is amazingly refreshing, but it really keeps you hydrated throughout the day. Also you can experiment with the ingredients to make some cool and superb drinks.

For starters, try a classic mix of lemon and mint or you can also get extra bold by adding some exciting ingredients such as cardamom or pomegranate seeds. There are many more ideas as such which will give you a mind blowing drink this summer.

Let’s find out a few!!!

Iced Tea

There is nothing more refreshing than a glass of iced tea. Making this drink is very easy and once you start, you never stop making it!!!

You can have it unsweetened or sweetened, brew it light or strong, depending on your taste buds. Learn the basics first and then let the creativity flow through.

The basic Iced Tea

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 liter water
• 2 teabags of your choice
• Ice cubes
• Sugar to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Take two tea bags and pour four cups of boiling water over them into a heat-proof pitcher. Leave it for four to five minutes depending how you want your ice tea – strong or light taste. Remove the teabags, and sweeten to taste by adding a little sugar. Adding sugar depends on your taste. Elderly people with diabetes can skip sugar. Finally, stir in six cups of ice cubes until melted, or use four cups of cold water. Add lemon further to get a zing of citrus and keep refrigerated for a while.

Your iced tea is ready!!!

This was the basic recipe of iced tea. Now since you have known the basics, try adding some new flavours to spice up the drink and make some new recipes out of it.

Here are a few ideas exclusively just for you.

Fruit iced tea

Everybody loves to have juices in summer time. Not only due to the tasty nature but also the health benefits which various juices tend to offer. Double-Triple your health meter by adding a fresh fruit of your choice into your iced tea!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 liter water
• Fresh fruit (It’s your choice, orange/peach are the preferred ones)
• 2 teabags
• Ice cubes
• Sugar or sugar syrup

DIRECTIONS:

First make iced tea as demonstrated above and then add slivers of fresh fruit like pineapple, peach, and kiwi to the iced tea along with half a cup of sugar syrup. Leave it for a while and then taste it. You will observe a super tangy flavor in the drink. Also, enjoy the marinated fruit at the bottom of your glass for a juicy bonus.

Strawberry iced tea

Who doesn’t like strawberries? Try this strawberry iced tea recipe this summer.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 liter water
• Fresh strawberries
• 2 teabags of your choice
• Ice cubes
• Powdered Sugar
• 1 lemon
  

DIRECTIONS:

To the iced tea, when it is still hot, pour in 1/3 cup powdered sugar and stir through. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice and sugar to taste. Don’t forget to balance the flavor Make a puree of fresh strawberries and sieve them to remove the strawberry seeds. Once the tea is cool, add the strawberry puree and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Your drink is ready!!!

Mint Ice Tea

This is the most common one in India because of mint or commonly called as “pudina” in India.

INGREDIENTS:

• Chinese green tea
• Boiling water
• 2 small bunches fresh spearmint, rinsed and drained
• Sugar to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine tea and 5 cups boiling water in teapot, and steep for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add mint and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Steep 3 to 4 minutes. Strain tea, and serve immediately over ice.

Jasmine delight

This is a super awesome drink with the heavenly flavor of jasmine in it. A drink worth trying this summer!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bags of Jasmin Tea or Green tea with Jasmine flavor
• 1 ripe mango
• 125g strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

Make small cubes of the mango and strawberries. Keep a few slices of mango and some whole strawberries aside. Mash the fruits and add the mixture to the hot tea. Leave the strawberries and mango to soak until right before serving. Pour the iced tea in a glass with a slice of mango, stick a strawberry on the straw and serve with a few ice cubes.

Rose tea

Try the magnificent rose iced tea and get mesemerized!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bags of Rose tea or Oolong tea with Rose
• 1 tablespoon cardamom
• 3 ripe peaches

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the peach into small pieces. Then add these to hot tea with cardamom and let it steep until the tea has cooled down. Strain the mixture and add ice.

Quick and easy…Your rose iced tea is ready to drink!!!

Cinnamon Iced Tea

This tea is a family favourite all over the places and even children enjoy this drink. It is quick, easy to make and tastes awesome!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bags of Green tea
• Fresh ginger
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• One lemon

DIRECTIONS:

Make thin ginger slices and then add ginger and the cinnamon sticks to the hot pitcher of tea. Cool the tea down to soak the flavours continuously. Add a few slices off lemon by taking out the cinnamon sticks. Add a couple of ice cubes and your tea is ready to serve.

Pears tea

In this drink, pears are infused with the earthy elements of black tea and the pomegranate seeds.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bags of black tea
• 2 pears
• 120 grams pomegranate seeds

DIRECTIONS:

First of all, start by cutting one pear in thick slices. Grate the other pear and mix it with the hot tea. Cool this mixture and filter it by running it through a strainer. Add two tablespoons pomegranate seeds in each glass and pour the cold tea on top of it. Enjoy!!!

Strawberry Lemonade Tea

This is a completely different variety of tea and tastes like super-cool. You will surely enjoy this drink during the summers. Beware for the sweetness of this tea as this drink is naturally sweetened by the strawberries. If you are looking for a sweeter tea, you can add strawberries that are frozen in syrup.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 lemon tea bags
• Boiling water
• Strawberry puree
• Soda or sparkling water

DIRECTIONS:

First of all make the strawberry puree. To make the puree, place fresh or frozen strawberries in a blender for 1 minute. Steep tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool. Then combine tea concentrate with strawberry puree. Add sparkling water or soda. Stir well and serve over ice.

Pineapple Sun Tea Cooler

A great recipe made with black tea bags, water, pineapple juice, lemon juice. This drink is said to be irresistible to and you will definitely have more than one!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 black tea bags
• 4 cups water
• 1 can (12 ounce size) unsweetened pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Mix tea bags and water in sun-tea jar or pitcher. Let stand in hot sun 3 hours. Remove tea bags. Chill tea 1 hour. Mix juice concentrate, lemon juice and sugar in medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir into tea. Keep refrigerated.

Chilli Chai Iced Tea

This is an Indian drink which will spice up your summers. Made by adding spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, vanilla in black tea, this drink has definitely a taste of Indian culture with it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5-6 g of chilli chai
• 200 ml milk
• Cane sugar to taste

DIRECTIONS:

First of all, brew the tea for 5 minutes approximately and then pour it into ice trays to freeze it. Put the set ice into a glass and fill 2/3 of the glass with sweetened milk. Enjoy the irresistible flavor of this tea!!!

Classic sweet tea

Last but not the least, this is one of the favourites on the list. People love this recipe because it’s got sturdy tea flavor without being harsh, and it’s sweet but not over-sweet.

Ingredients

• 12 regular-size tea bags
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 qt. distilled or bottled water
• 1 qt. ice cubes

Put tea bags and baking soda in a big glass pitcher. Pour boiling water in the pitcher and cover it for seven minutes. Remove tea bags, and then add ice. Stir till the ice melts. Then add simple sugar syrup and again sit. Serve it with ice.

This summer get creative with your own pitchers filled with extravagant iced tea drinks!!!

You can make your own drinks by experimenting with different types of new flavours and much more. One important thing is – Never get afraid to experiment to make a new drink, as practice makes a man perfect!!!

With a few of these suggestions, hope you will be ready to celebrate Iced Tea day or any summer day poolside!