Iced tea is one of those drinks that is eagerly consumed, especially during the warm summer days and evenings. It is refreshing, thirst-quenching and healthy. At least that’s what we think. Ice tea is now available as a soft drink, but it is not always healthy. Why not make a healthy drink like iced tea yourself. Really healthy iced tea.
Iced tea is always possible
There is something sophisticated about iced tea, it is tasty and healthy and absolutely thirst-quenching during the warm months. Iced tea suits every hour of the day and that is an advantage. If you make iced tea yourself, it is not only much healthier, but also a lot cheaper than the bottles with refined sugars from the supermarket.
Furthermore, iced tea can also be combined with anything as a snack. After all, it has a fairly neutral taste. But if you want it a little sweeter, sweeten it with, for example, a little honey. Combines well with iced tea and is healthy.
This is how you make iced tea
Ingredients
- 1 liter of cold water
- 1 large slice of lemon
- 1 large slice of lime
- 1 fresh mint plant (or in bags if there is no fresh one)
- 1 cm ginger
Prepare
Boil a liter of water and then let the mint steep in the hot water. Usually four to five minutes is sufficient, but it can be a little longer to get the flavor more intense. Now peel the ginger and cut it into slices and mix this in the boiled water. Finally, add the lemon and lime slices and let it cool completely in the refrigerator. If desired, remove everything before serving. Of course, serve it nice and cold and you can add one or two crushed mint leaves and a ‘wrapped’* ice cube.
* The plastic-wrapped ice cubes (sometimes in fun colors and figures) cool the drink, but do not cloud the drink by dissolving.
Sweet option
If you like a sweeter version, add some honey to the hot water and let it cool. It goes without saying, the more honey, the sweeter the whole thing. If you have a licorice plant or stevia plant in the garden, you can also sweeten the iced tea with it.
Fruit option
What you see more and more and which can certainly taste good is the option of mixing (small) fruit into it. Think of some blackberries, red berries, strawberries, small slices of sweet apple or peach.
Pros and cons of iced tea
A clear advantage is that the drink is thirst-quenching, fresh and contains hardly any calories. Another additional advantage is that it saves energy. The disadvantage is the increasing bitterness as the tea steeps longer, but that is within your control.
The simple method
If you find this method too complex for a glass of iced tea, you can always use the simple method. This involves placing a jug of cold water with tea bags to taste in the refrigerator and after about one night or day the iced tea will also have the desired taste.
Finally
Iced tea has been popular for a long time and we are bombarded with new flavors in the store by bottles of refined sugars. Besides the fact that this iced tea has nothing to do with health, the drink also moves further and further away from the original iced tea taste and therefore has less and less to do with real tea. Making it yourself really doesn’t take that much time, it can be tasted exactly, thirst-quenching and very healthy. Cheers!
