cool summer tea
June 30, 2012 V I N T A G E D I S H
Iced tea and summer just go together. Its not new – we've been drinking iced tea since the late 19th century. The beverage became especially popular in 1904, at the St. Louis World's Fair. The invention has been credited to a tea plantation owner by the name of Richard Blechynden. The story goes that he was planning to hand out samples of his hot tea beverage to fair visitors. But in the hot St. Louis summer not many visitors were interested. Resourceful and creative Blechynden added ice into his tea samples and the drink was a 'hit' at the fair.
Bulk tea, bags, concentrates, powders or in a can – iced tea is a summertime staple. So with the long weekend starting and it promises to be a hot, sunny one here in Toronto, its a perfect reason to serve iced tea. Here is a recipe that sounds perfect if you are entertaining. Perhaps a 'champagne high tea' to celebrate the first long weekend of summer!
Here is a recipe for the tea I'm planning to serve. What kind of tea are you pouring this weekend?
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Green-Jasmine Tea Bubbles
Ingredients
5 green-jasmine tea bags or 5 Tbsp. loose green-jasmine tea
200 ml (7fl oz) just-boiled water
3 tbsp sugar, to to taste
500 ml (18fl oz) cold water
handful of raspberries and blackberries (optional)
1 bottle good champagne
Directions
1) Steep tea bags or loose tea in a measuring jug in the just-boiled water for 1 minute, adding the sugar and stirring until dissolved. Remove tea bags or strain to remove loose tea, then add cold water.
2) Taste tea for strength, adding a touch more cold water if it's too strong, then put in the refrigerator to cool further for 30 minutes. (If you can't wait, add a few ice cubes to speed up cooling process.)
3) Serve in vintage teacups. For a bit of extra colour, put a couple of berries into each cup before pouring.
4) For the alcoholic version, simply half-fill the cup with tea, then top up with an equal measure of bubbly!
Reference: History of Iced Tea
Recipe: The Telegraph, UK
Photos: Tea with Raspberries and Blackberries, Tea with Raspberries
Reader Comments (1)
this good think for us