Wocklean: When we think of refreshing and relaxing drinks especially on a hot summer day we always think of lemonade but there is also a way to refresh and relax with diet iced tea. Just imagine having your tea the way you like it and still be able to lose weight with it! They say that when you drink hot tea it is soothing and has a calming and relaxing effect on you. Do you know that even if you drink your tea iced it still has the same effect aside from being a very refreshing drink at that?
The basic recipe for diet iced tea is very simple. You only need your loose leaf tea or tea bags, honey or sugar syrup, a slice of lemon and lots and lots of ice. Simple and you can add a hint of flavor that will add freshness to your tea. Here are the exact measurements for the simple tea recipe I just described above – this recipe is good for 2 quarts or approximately 8 cups.
Basic Iced Tea Recipe
- 8 cups cold water
- 4 tea bags (2:1 ratio of boiled water to 1 tea bag)
- 1 cup sugar (lessen or take out the sugar for a diet friendly tea)
Optional: Lemon slices, fresh mint leaves
Syrup : 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water
Procedure:
- Bring the 8 cups of cold water to a boil.
- Pour the boiling water over the 4 tea bags.
- Let the water-tea mixture to steep for about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- After the mixture has cooled down, add 1 cup sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Refrigerate before serving to chill.
- Serve with lots of ice, lemon slices, fresh mint leaves and syrup, if desired.
Refreshing Tea Suggestions:
- Set aside some of the mixture or make a separate batch with lemon and without sugar and make them into ice cubes. You can use these ice cubes when serving your tea. These ice cubes can also be added to serve cold water during meals for a refreshing drink.
- To make your tea frothy, you can put the mixture in a blender and blend it with some ice cubes before pouring into tall glasses with a slice of lemon on the side a small mint leaf floating on the froth.
- You can also place a slice of lemon in each glass and place these glasses in the freezer to chill before serving your tea. This will add to the cool and refreshing effect to your tea.
- You can add other hints of flavor to your tea for a distinctive taste, like peach, peppermint, jasmine, etc.
- You can also use flavored tea or mix two different flavors instead of just the standard green, black or oolong teas for a unique iced tea concoction. Using green or oolong tea will also be good for your diet iced tea mix.
- To make your tea diet friendly, replace sugar with honey or take out the sugar syrup.
