Iced Tea

"Ice Tea" is authored by Fred Thompson. Published by Harvard Common Press in 2002, this book I am reading is in its 5th printing.

The book contains 50 recipes to make iced tea. The author explains his passion for tea as follows:

"Growing up in the South, I watched grandmothers, aunts and my mother 'make tea' which, in the South, means iced tea. The different versions of iced tea I consumed at home, family reunions, church suppers, and restaurants all had subtle variations in taste. My mother's, of course, was always the best, but all had three things in common: a dark amber hue, copious amounts of sugar, and being made with care. though not sacred, good iced tea is considered essential to a Southerner's happiness and well being. The importance of iced tea can best be illustrated by this old Southern saying : 'In the South, never marry a man until you know how to make his mama's tea'. "

The author had also included a few rules to making ice tea. Some rules were

- "putting hot tea in a cold refrigerator will guarantee cloudy tea. Let your tea cool before refrigerating it.

- Make only what you can drink in two to three days

- Never, ever use anything but freshly squeezed lemon juice.......Why ruin your fresh tasting tea with an artificial flavor."

This book's ice tea recipes mainly used tea in tea bags, sugar and the use of fruits like apple cider and even milk. Click the above pictures for a enlarged view and a more comfortable reading of the recipes. The Solar Tea is very fascinating and the Tea Smoothie (which I tried) was quite popular with my kids.

I found this book a very interesting read.

Use your Chinese tea to make a chilled and refreshing tea drink. Throw a half teaspoon of oolong or green tea leaves in a half-liter water bottle and leave it overnight in the fridge. Its ready to drink the next day. No sugar needed. Try it....trust me.