Cold green tea homemade. Iced tea - a breath of freshness on a hot afternoon
65Diets and healthy eating 05.07.2015
Summer weather has set in Yaroslavl. While there is no sweltering heat when it is impossible to go outside. Everything is very pleasant. During the day, about 20-23 degrees, no more. But now I really want to quench my thirst with something refreshing. I have already written about homemade lemonade recipes on my blog. For those who have not read the article and who are interested, I invite you to read it. The article is called . Everything is great in homemade lemonades, but sparkling water is not for everyone. And without it, this drink will have a different name.
Today I want to talk about iced tea, which can do the job perfectly and bring freshness to our daily lives. Probably everyone is familiar with iced tea in a jar, bag, or bottle, which can be bought at the store. Recently, we have the opportunity to choose from an assortment.
So, factory-made cold teas .
Perhaps the most famous varieties of iced tea in the package are Lipton Ice Tea, Nestia, Ahmad, Tazo tea and some others. I will not comment on these teas, I will only say in a nutshell, after drinking such tea, I have, sorry, nausea. There is no taste, only chemistry. And what is more decent, the price for a half-liter bottle is simply surprising.
And if you know that natural tea cannot be stored for more than 3 days, it means that preservatives are added there. Well, if natural (for example, citric acid). But most often, unfortunately, sodium benzoate is added there, which, among other things, contributes to weight gain. And also cold tea can provoke the formation of kidney stones. And it is equated in harm to beer and carbonated drinks. And we must not forget that ordinary leaf tea contains important substances, trace elements that are so beneficial to health, but factory-made iced tea is no different.
What you need to know when choosing cold tea in the store?
How to choose cold tea?
- Look at the composition. The more natural the drink, the more benefits it will bring to the body. Should be written Tea extract and purified water.
- Choose teas with natural flavors rather than artificial ones.
- Drinks with sweeteners (seemingly, at first glance, the reduced number of calories that attract us so much) quench thirst worse than teas with regular sugar.
- From packaging, a bottle is better, because. it is poured in a hot way, i.e. prepared under pressure at a temperature of 120 degrees, then cooled and poured. With this method of bottling, preservatives are used much less frequently.
- Bottles are also good because we can see its contents. Tea should not be cloudy. A small amount of sediment is perfectly acceptable.
Since many people buy this factory-made iced tea, I suggest watching a video about the quality of these drinks, about the composition, what kind of iced tea is more harmless to health, and much, much more. The material is interesting.
For those who have not watched the video, I will only say useful information that the winners of iced tea are tea of the trademarks "Lubimiy tea" - the leader of the qualifying round and "My family".
Cold tea at home. Recipes.
But we all understand perfectly well that there is nothing better than home-made such drinks. There is nothing easier and more useful. Cook it at home and enjoy the taste. Moreover, your creativity will tell you new tastes. No chemicals, no preservatives, everything is homemade. The main thing is to observe all the same precautions. Do not drink very cold.
How to make cold tea at home? Little subtleties and tricks.
The basis of this drink is proper brewing. You can take any tea: black, green, with jasmine, with bergamot - any tea that you like. The main thing is the correct ratio of tea and boiling water. It is recommended to brew 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for a glass of boiling water. It is important not to boil the water. The water should just boil. Brew for approximately 5-7 minutes. And do not use tea bags for this. There is no need to even discuss anything.
Meanwhile, prepare glasses. You need to put them in the freezer first. If you then pour tea into such glasses, it will turn out transparent. Here is such a trick. Now ice is added to the glass. It is in a glass, not in tea. This is another trick and subtlety. In a thin stream, very carefully, so as not to crack the glass, pour tea leaves into it. Somewhere half or 3/4. Add water at room temperature. If desired and in the absence of allergies, add a spoonful of honey, a slice of lemon to the tea. It's better not to add sugar. Let's take a cue from the Chinese who never do this. They believe that sugar has its own taste, tea has its own. By mixing tea with sugar, they call it fragrant water.
Another option for making cold tea at home. Cold tea with juice.
In the prepared glass (see the previous recipe), put ice, pour tea leaves (about half a glass) and juice. I love it with freshly squeezed orange juice. Put in about 2 teaspoons of sugar (I never do). Better than a little honey. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
For children it is possible prepare cold tea with juice and sparkling water . Just take it a little. All according to the same scheme. Ice (only smaller), tea leaves, sparkling water. Sugar or honey to taste. Decorate everything. Drink immediately before the gases come out.
By the way, in hot countries, only hot tea is drunk to quench thirst, because hot water is absorbed faster. And many nutritionists now say that it is most useful to drink just filtered water with lime juice in the summer. So let's not overdo it in cold teas. So, if you're in the mood, you can pamper yourself a little. But this does not mean that you need to drink it during the day and in large quantities.
You can make cold tea with milk, oranges, apricots, grapefruit, apples, berries (strawberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc. will give a special flavor to tea). Don't forget the ginger! This is just a miracle! I suggest reading about ginger teas in the article and. Take a look at these recipes. Just use the iced tea recipe.
You can add whipped cream and ice cream on top, grated chocolate, of course, is not so useful, but sometimes you can treat yourself, why not?). Some people like to add alcohol to cold tea. But it will be a different drink. And we must remember that especially in the summer you have to be very careful with alcohol, and it is best to completely abandon it.
Cold tea "Country".
These are my favorite cold tea recipes: ice, tea leaves, currant leaves (black currant is best), to taste - about 3-6 leaves per small teapot, a few mint leaves, you can add strawberry leaves here, rose hips, everything you like and what is at hand. You can also add berries.
Interesting Facts . Did you know that the US president's favorite iced tea is berry iced tea. Hibiscus tea, raspberries and blueberries, blackberry leaves are taken as the basis. We can try too.
Historically, in our country, tea has long been perceived exclusively as a hot drink. However, now iced tea has gained immense popularity, which is especially relevant in hot summer.
It perfectly cools the body, invigorates, and simply very tasty. On sale you can find chilled tea drinks from different manufacturers, but, unfortunately, their composition is far from ideal. Therefore, it is better to prepare such a soft drink at home.
The history of the drink
The recipe for iced tea appeared relatively recently - just over 100 years ago. His invention was due to the climatic features of the United States, where at the beginning of the 20th century there was a sultry heat almost all year round. One enterprising American decided to make tea with the addition of ice, and such a drink quickly took root among the local population and was called ice tea.
It is noteworthy that under the guise of this drink at social events, the Long Island alcoholic cocktail was served. Outwardly, it looked like iced tea and the police had no reason to check the contents of the glasses.
Soon, an entrepreneur from Switzerland, who traveled around America and managed to appreciate the refreshing tea, decided to put it on sale, pouring it into a convenient container. It is to him that we owe the appearance of such popular drinks today as Nestea tea, Lipton, etc.
However, if you care about your health, do not rush to buy ice tea in the store. Unfortunately, a large amount of sugar, flavors and preservatives will not bring benefits to the body.
Try making your own iced tea - it takes a minimum of time and ingredients
Cooking methods
For the first time, ice tea was prepared without a special recipe and was brewed black or green tea, which was cooled with ice. Now there are three options - how to make iced tea at home:
- Hot brew.
- insistence method.
- Classic recipe.
hot brew
This method is incredibly simple and consists of only two steps. To begin with, we brew a strong tea infusion at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 250 ml of water. However, for the drink you will need only 1/3 of the tea leaves. Now pour it into a glass and fill the remaining volume with mineral water. At the end, you can add sugar, syrups or spices to taste.
Infusion
Unlike hot brewing, this method allows you to save all the benefits of the tea leaf, because it is not subjected to heat treatment at all. To prepare cold tea using infusion, take 1-2 gr. tea leaves and place them in the bottom of a carafe or glass jar. Pour water at room temperature into a container, close it with a lid or cling film. Place the decanter in the sun on a windowsill or, if possible, outside for a whole day. The readiness of the drink can be determined by the saturated shade. The taste of tea after infusion is very soft and rich.
Classic recipe
And this is how ice tea is made in bars - the glass is half filled with ice cubes, if desired, syrups, lemon juice and mint are added. A strainer with tea leaves is placed on top of the glass and hot water is carefully poured into it. Thus, the tea is immediately brewed and cooled. It is believed that this method of preparing a drink is the most correct.
If you have already decided to make iced tea at home, here are a few tips that will help make the drink even tastier and healthier:
- Use only good quality leaf tea leaves - tea bags will not work!
- Water must be purified from impurities, so it is optimal if it is mineral or at least filtered.
- Replace sugar with fruit syrups.
- Take ice cubes to cool the drink, not crushed.
- Ice tea goes well with mint, ginger and lemon - they add not only taste, but also benefits to the drink.
Lemon iced tea recipe
Iced tea with lemon is a classic of the genre. It is not for nothing that Nesti was the first to release such a drink for sale, which was very fond of young people. The recipe for iced tea with lemon is easy to repeat at home. To do this, pour 3 teaspoons of dry tea leaves with a liter of hot water. Leave for a few minutes to infuse.
Strain the drink to remove the tea leaves and add the lemon juice from half a citrus, as well as a teaspoon of honey or sugar. When the tea has cooled, cut lemon slices into it and add ice. If desired, you can diversify the taste with the help of confectionery spices.
Such a drink can be prepared on the basis of any tea leaf, but cold green tea with lemon quenches thirst better and has a great effect on body tone.
With lemon and mint
Also try this homemade Lipton Lemon Mint Tea recipe. You don't even need ice for this refreshing drink, because the ingredients will keep it fresh.
First, brew green tea in the usual way in a half-liter container, but take twice as many leaves as usual. Take a few sprigs of fresh or dried mint and put them in the bottom of the carafe. Using a sieve, pour the cooled tea, lemon juice into the container and add a little sugar. The remaining volume of the carafe is filled with non-carbonated mineral water.
Ice tea with mint and lemon is an excellent summer drink that not only refreshes and invigorates, but also replenishes the fluid deficiency in the body and saturates it with vitamins.
On the basis of cold tea with mint and lemon, you can prepare a non-alcoholic cocktail. Just instead of mineral water, carbonated sprite is added to it, as well as ice cubes. The cocktail is garnished with a mint leaf and a slice of lemon. It is perfect for summer holidays and picnics. It is very easy to make, and guests will surely enjoy this rich mint flavor and aroma.
citrus tea
Based on the recipe for making ice tea with lemon at home, you can make an interesting citrus drink.
You will need:
- 150 ml of cooled tea;
- 1 tbsp lemon juice;
- 2 tbsp orange juice;
- mint syrup (optional)
To begin with, brew weak tea and cool it. In a separate bowl, mix lemon and orange juice with mint syrup. Pour them into glasses in small portions. The remaining space of the glass is filled with tea and at the very end a teaspoon of honey is added.
fruit ice tea
Iced green tea can be used to make an unusual fruit drink. In fact, here the scope of imagination is not limited and you can try adding new fruits and berries every time, or use the following recipe.
Take 1/3 of an apple and a pear, as well as raspberries, lingonberries or cranberries. Using a muddler or a French press, squeeze the juice out of them and add a little water. Add currant, mint or basil leaves to the juice - any herbs that suit your taste will do. Give the nectar time to infuse.
Pour the cooled green tea into a decanter, add sugar or honey to it, as well as ice cubes. Strain the infused juice and add it to the container
Fruit iced tea is ready. Be sure to give them to your loved ones!
ginger iced tea
Another popular recipe for making cold tea at home is ginger. It not only perfectly tones up, but also helps to fight extra pounds.
Ginger tea is prepared differently. Boil 1 liter of water in a saucepan and put 2 tbsp. tablespoons of grated ginger. Reduce the heat and add 80 g brown sugar. Stir the ingredients and leave on the stove for 10 minutes.
Squeeze the juice from half an orange and pour it into the strained ginger tea. Add some red pepper or coriander to make the taste more intense. The cooled drink must be put in the refrigerator for an hour. This tea can be enjoyed both in winter and summer. It contains a large number of useful substances that protect the body from bacteria and viruses.
Homemade iced tea is not only delicious, but also healthy. Unlike store analogues, it can be used constantly by both adults and children. And the presented variety of recipes will allow you to experiment at least every day.
In the frantic pace of our lives, we are constantly late for something ... for a meeting, for work, for school, kindergarten, etc. And it mostly happens in the morning. There is no time to even think about sitting down and calmly drinking a cup of tea. Usually you dream of just having time to drink this tea. And okay, he sipped his drink at a gallop, burned his tongue again. But when my child went to school, I encountered such a problem - either the child burns his tongue, or he does not have time to have breakfast, because the tea cools for a long time.
So we came up with such a simple, but very effective method for cooling any hot liquid right in the cup.
To do this, we take our bowl with a drink, close it on top with an ordinary plastic lid for cans.
We place under a stream of cool water.
First, we direct the jet at the lid itself and gradually transfer it to the edges of the cup. You can turn the dishes over without fear that the tea will spill out or water will get inside.
If the diameter of the cup is slightly smaller than the lid and the tea is poured out, then simply press the lid with your hand.
This way the tea cools down quickly and you can easily control how cold you want your drink to be.
Well, if, nevertheless, someone hurried up and already burned their tongue, then a spoonful of sugar will relieve the pain in a minute.
Life hack was sent by Julia from Kharkov.
Domovod, May 20, 2017.Ice tea in the summer heat is a real salvation. This magical drink is much more pleasant to drink than ordinary water. It tones and refreshes, and also has many useful properties. By the way, iced tea can also serve as a drink at a summer party, especially if it is served beautifully.
In this article we will talk about several recipes for the most delicious iced tea. You have a whole summer ahead of you to try them all!
Chamomile-lavender tea with mint
Ingredients: 1 cup mint leaves, 2 tablespoons dried lavender, 1.5 tablespoons dried chamomile, or 4 tea bags.
Cooking:
1.
Place mint leaves in a jar and grind them. Add lavender and chamomile.
2.
Pour hot water over and refrigerate for 6 hours. Strain through cheesecloth or sieve into a pitcher and serve.
By the way, such tea the next day, when infused, will be even tastier.
Ingredients: 4 hibiscus tea bags, 0.5 cup fresh mint leaves, 4 cups boiling water, 2 cups apple juice, 2 cups cold water, ice cubes for serving, sprigs of mint (optional).
Cooking:
1.
In a heatproof jar, combine the tea bags, mint, and boiling water. Let the tea steep for 10 minutes.
2.
Take out the bags and mint, add cold water and apple juice. Refrigerate your drink.
3.
Serve with ice and mint sprigs.
Peach Berry Tea
Ingredients: rooibos tea (loose or bagged), 1 cup fresh blueberries or strawberry pieces, 3 tablespoons agave nectar, 2 peaches or nectarines, 3 cups ice cubes.
Cooking:
1.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Pour tea over them. Brew for 6-7 minutes, then remove the bags or strain the tea if you used loose tea.
2.
Grind half of the peaches and berries in a blender or mash with a wooden spoon.
3.
Put the remaining fruit, fruit puree in a jug and pour over tea.
4.
Add 3 cups of ice cubes and stir until they melt.
5.
Serve immediately with ice, or later.
Blueberry Lemon Tea
Ingredients: 450g frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 4 cups water, 3 large tea bags, 3/4 cup sugar.
Cooking:
1.
Bring blueberries and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly.
2.
Remove from heat and carefully strain through a sieve.
3.
Bring water to a boil, brew tea bags, let them brew for 5 minutes. Remove the bags and discard.
4.
Add sugar to tea, mix with blueberry-lemon juice.
5.
Refrigerate for an hour. Serve with ice.
Green tea with strawberries
Ingredients: 0.5 strawberries, washed and quartered, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, zest of one lemon, 4 cups iced green tea (mineral water can be substituted).
Cooking:
1.
Combine strawberries, sugar, water and zest in a casserole dish and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes.
3.
Strain, squeezing out all the remaining juice from the strawberries. Pour it into a covered container and refrigerate.
4.
For one cup of green tea, add 3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup (or to taste). Serve with ice.
Watermelon-basil tea
Ingredients: 8 cups boiling water, 8 tea bags, 1/8 of a medium-sized watermelon, cut into small pieces, 1 small bunch of fresh basil, sugar to taste.
Cooking:
1.
Steep tea bags for 10 minutes. Discard the bags and leave the tea to cool at room temperature.
2.
Add watermelon, basil, sugar (if you like) and ice.
Tea with roasted peaches
Ingredients: 4 medium pitted peaches, cut in half, 1 tablespoon sugar, 4 cups freshly brewed tea, slightly chilled.
Cooking:
1.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
2.
Place peach halves skin side down in a baking dish and sprinkle with sugar on top. Roast for 25 minutes until the peaches are juicy and soft enough to peel off easily.
3.
Remove the skin from the peaches and put them in a blender, pour tea so that it covers the peaches completely. Blend until the peaches are mashed and the liquid is frothy.
4.
Pour the mixture into a jug, add the rest of the tea there, mix. Cool down.
5.
Strain through a sieve before serving to remove pulp. However, you can drink with pulp if you like. Then stir the tea before serving.
Ingredients: 1 cup chilled brewed green tea, 1/4-1/2 cup fresh juice (pomegranate, apple, mango or pineapple), honey and ice to taste.
Cooking:
Mix the tea and juice of your choice in a glass. Add ice and honey if desired.
Ginger lime tea
Ingredients: 9 cups water, 1 cup sugar, a small piece of ginger (chopped), lime zest, coarsely chopped and ribbons, 8 black tea bags, juice of one lime, 0.5 cup cranberry juice.
Cooking:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, ginger and lime zest and bring to a boil. Cook the mixture over moderate heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, then strain the mixture.
Steep tea bags for 5 minutes, then discard and cool to room temperature. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate to chill further.
When the tea is ready to serve, add cranberry juice and ginger syrup. Add some first and try. If the tea seems already saturated to you, then save some of it in the refrigerator for later use.
Bon appetit!
They say that history moves in a spiral, and this scheme also applies to the history of gastronomic preferences. Well, for example, once in childhood, we all willingly drank iced tea prepared by our grandmother or mother from tea leaves and / or dried herbs with lemon. Growing up, they switched to more popular sweet carbonated drinks to quench their thirst in the heat. And their manufacturing companies, meanwhile, reminded of iced tea, releasing several such drinks at once. But you and I know that you can make ice tea with lemon at home instead of buying ready-made ice tea in a plastic bottle. And if you suddenly forgot how to make cold tea, refreshing and natural, then we will be happy to remind you, and at the same time we will offer several new recipes that even your caring grandmother might not know about.
How to make ice tea, or iced tea?Oddly enough, humanity has been quenching its thirst with such a simple and tasty drink for just a little over a hundred years. The first to make iced tea (iced tea) was an entrepreneur whose profits were threatened at a world fair held in the early 20th century in the United States. It was so hot in St. Louis that no one even wanted to look at the hot tea that was put up by the merchant for tasting the goods. In the last desperate (pun intended) attempt to interest the surrounding onlookers, the businessman poured ice into glasses with a drink and did not even suspect at that moment that he was a stone's throw from worldwide success. It was in 1904. The name of the creator of iced tea was Richard Blechinden. His Swiss colleague Max Sprenger took the initiative and was the first to think of packaging iced tea in bottles for storage and sale. But both of them remained figures of their time, of little interest to us today. It is much more interesting to learn how, without reinventing the wheel, to make iced tea yourself.
Oddly enough, the original method of making iced tea, that is, simply adding ice to hot tea, is no longer considered the only correct one. This method forms a temperature contrast in the glass, which is detrimental to tooth enamel. And connoisseurs of tea traditions are generally outraged by such treatment of tea, which, according to them, distorts the taste of this noble drink. Therefore, over the past hundred plus years, several other ways to prepare iced tea have been invented: 
Despite the powerful antiseptic properties of natural tea (unlike store-bought from a plastic bottle), you should not store it for a long time even in the refrigerator. Ideally, iced tea should be consumed within 3-6 hours of preparation. But it is permissible to stretch the pleasure of the drink for the whole day, provided that the tea prepared in the morning is drunk until the evening.
Recipes for making cold tea at home
Obviously, iced tea made at home with natural ingredients is much healthier than soft sodas containing synthetic colors, flavors, and large amounts of white sugar. And even iced tea packaged in plastic bottles cannot compare with homemade iced tea. You may have noticed the content of "natural tea extract" in such ready-made drinks, but in reality, the antioxidants that benefit the chemicals in tea leaves are ten times less in store-bought tea than in the one that you can easily prepare. one of these recipes: 
- Fruit iced tea. Half a liter of strong tea leaves (black or green), half a liter of natural fruit juice or fruit drink (can be from a box, but freshly squeezed is better), juice of one lemon and sugar to taste.
- Cucumber iced tea with mint. Half a liter of green tea leaves, two large cucumbers (chopped in a blender), a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves, juice of one lemon, sugar to taste.
- Cold tea with spices. Half a liter of black tea leaves, 1 centimeter of ginger root (grated), a pinch of cinnamon, juice of one lemon (or one lemon, cut into circles), sugar to taste.
- Cold milk tea. Half a liter of strong tea leaves (black or green), half a liter of cold milk, sugar to taste.
- Cold tea with fruits. 250 ml of cooled black tea, 1 banana (peeled and cut into circles), 1 orange (cut into slices with skin), 5 tablespoons of canned pineapple (in pieces), 3 tablespoons of cognac and sugar to taste.
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