I don’t know about where you live, but it’s been hotter than blazes here this summer. Usually I can wear sweats through June and most of July since warmer temps don’t hit until August. I think we’ve been sweating in shorts and tank tops since May. I know: California problems. It’s the drought, I tell ya. Little rain and hot weather are not a good mix.
Our home doesn’t have an air conditioner. Typically we only need it two days out of the year. I can’t afford to run it as much as I’d be temped to this summer, so it’s a good thing we don’t have it. Ha!
Instead we’re keeping cool by other means: opening windows in the early morning and evening to cool things down, preparing easy, quick no-cook meals, and mixing up cool drinks.
It’s super tempting when I’m running errands to swing by Starbucks for an icy drink. But, $4 adds up quickly to a lot more than $4. I could make several gallons of homemade coffee or tea for the same price. And homemade is so much better than bottled or coffeehouse drinks. You get to control the sweetener and the contents of the brew. And you can enjoy more for the same price.
Mix up a batch of this minted ice tea for a delicious and refreshing drink that costs just pennies!
Recipe: MinTea
Ingredients
- 4 black tea bags
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 cups ice cubes
Instructions
- Place the tea bags and mint leaves in a heatproof glass pitcher or bowl. Pour the boiling water over and steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and strain out the mint leaves. Stir in the honey until dissolved.
- Put the ice in a large thermos. Pour the hot tea over the ice. Serve chilled.
- Store the tea in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time:5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): About 1 1/2 quarts
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know my heart is with homemade. Not only is it less expensive than commercially-made products, but it’s generally healthier and tastier, too. I’ve compiled over 200 family- and budget-friendly recipes in my latest cookbook, Good Cheap Eats, including this one. You can preorder it now and Amazon (if that’s where you buy it) will guarantee you the lowest pre-release price between now and shipping time. I appreciate your support.
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We make mint tea by the bucketload as well, though we do it the lazy way and just add a peppermint tea bag to the mix. Or any other flavor, really. My husband is especially fond of black tea + peach. I like green tea + mint. Or just a big pitcher of water with a raspberry zinger bag thrown in.
Yes, you can definitely do that. I have found that there are artificial ingredients in a lot of those flavored teas, so I went straight to the source. Do you have a favorite brand that avoids the fake flavorings?
My favorite brands of tea are Celestial Seasonings, Stash, Twinings, and Yogi. Most of the herbal teas I drink are Celestial Seasonings, which are all natural. The peach black tea we drink is from Stash – I don’t know a whole lot about them but they say their teas are 100% natural – though I have no idea what “natural peach flavoring” is. It’s hard to get a peach in a tea bag though, so I guess they have to do something…
This is basically Moroccan tea, although they use sugar instead of honey and drink it hot. It’s a great pick-me-up!
Thanks for letting me know. I had no idea!
Which mint do you all use, peppermint or spearmint? I have access to both, and I wasn’t sure which to try first…
I don’t think it matters.