Iced Herbals...A Refreshing Choice for Hot Summer Days

Summer is officially here and it's the perfect time to enjoy iced tea. Here in Texas, iced tea is a staple at family dinners, barbeques and relaxing weekends by the pool. I've always been a big fan of traditional iced black tea with lemon (usually substituting stevia for sugar when I can). But recently I started playing around with some of my favorite herbal teas by serving them over ice. I've tried almost a dozen herbal teas over ice and each and every one has been delicious, but my personal favorite iced herbal blend is Country Peach Passion by Celestial Seasonings. When served over ice, this stuff is about as refreshing and summery as it gets. I usually amp up the natural peach flavor by tossing some frozen peach slices into the glass or pitcher. 

 

It's super simple to prepare in large batches or individual servings...

 

(Iced Country Peach Passion Herbal Tea)

Iced Herbal Tea (flavor of your choosing) 

Ingredients:

2 cups of boiling water

4-6 cups of cold water

4 bags of herbal tea of your choice (fruit flavors work best)

1 1/2 cups of frozen fruit of your choice

1/4 cup sugar or 4 packets of stevia (or sweetener of choice) 

Enough ice to fill your pitcher to halfway 

Instructions:

1) Bring 2 cups of water to a rapid boil and remove from heat.

2) Add tea bags to boiled water and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes, then remove..

3) Add sugar or sweetener to hot concentrated tea and stir until dissolved. 

3) Fill a pitcher halfway with ice.

4) Add the frozen fruit to pitcher.

5) Add the 2 cups of steeped sweetened tea to pitcher.

6) Add 4-6 cups of cold water to pitcher and stir thoroughly. 

7) Serve in tall glasses being sure to include some fruit in each glass. 

* All ingredients can be adjusted to taste