Tea for me

I am late to iced tea. I just never really cared for it. Hot tea, yes; cold, no. But last week my grandma always had a jug brewing in the sun, and the iced tea tasted refreshing and delicious. (It was also 100 degrees and humid in Arkansas.) So now I'm making my own. Above is Wild Zinger herbal tea from Celestial Seasonings. It tastes so good cold (no sweetener needed) that my husband said he would give up his Diet 7Up habit if this was always in the fridge. Done. I sun-brewed 3 bags in this 2 quart pitcher.

The always inspirational Amy Karol just wrote about her method of brewing highly concentrated tea in a mason jar because she didn't have enough room in the fridge for all the tea they drink. Last night I shoved three bags of peppermint and three of green into a quart (?) mason jar, added cold water and it brewed in the fridge overnight. I squeezed out the bags to get every last bit of tea in there this morning. Can you guess what I'm drinking right now? Amy says she only adds about 2 tablespoons of the concentrate to a glass of water; I found I needed about 1/4 cup. This peppermint-green combo was light and refreshing; nice for a morning pick-me-up. Now my mind is racing -- what other concoctions to try?

It occurs to me that tea is a pretty eco-friendly drink, particularly if you buy it organic and fair trade. You can recycle the box and compost the tea bags -- and eliminate both of those if you buy it loose (something I've never done) from a local tea shop. I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl.

Happy 4th everyone!