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A Reminder To Myself: About Iced Tea in the Summer

First, that I shouldn't drink too much of it if I don't want to spend my entire summer in the bathroom.

Second, that I should make it myself!  It is so painfully simple to make, so incredibly cheap, and the at-home version almost always turns out perfectly.  And you can't depend on that at Caribou or Starbucks.  Seriously, I hate watered down iced tea.



Cost breakdown for the bulk ingredients:
100 bags of Lipton tea: $2.99 usually
4 pound bag of sugar: $4 maximum (I honestly don't know because I  last bought sugar at Costco, organic for I think $1 a pound, a long time ago!  Most likely this is a very high price for regular sugar, but I'll go with it.)

Cost for one gallon of homemade iced tea:
12 bags of tea at $.03 each: $.36
1/2 cup of sugar at max price of $1/pound: $.25
water: free

Total cost for one gallon of homemade iced tea: $.61
Total cost for a 16 ounce glass of homemade iced tea: $.08!!!

Cost of a 16 ounce iced black tea at Caribou: about $2, or $1.92 more than the same thing at home.

So next time I or my daughter are tempted to make a stop at the coffee shop, instead of driving the 3 miles more to our house and grabbing some out of the fridge, I need to remember this blog post.  Thus, I'm reminding myself.

Recipe notes: after much experimentation, I've found that the method which produces the best iced tea is from the Hillbilly Housewife.  I fill a pitcher with cold filtered water, pour half into a saucepan and heat it to boiling.  I used 12 tea bags when making a gallon of tea, and steep it right in the saucepan after the water has come to a boil and I've taken it off the heat.  Steep the tea for ten minutes using a timer, add 1/2 cup sugar to the hot water/tea, then pour the hot tea into the 1/2 full pitcher of cold water.  Let it cool a bit in the fridge, or add ice right away and drink some.  This makes perfect iced tea that is not watered down.  You can adjust the sugar to taste.  If you live in the South and like "sweet tea", you might want to double the amount of sugar.  Or more.

And of course, you can use herbal or green or other teas too.  I'm a black-tea-slightly-sweetened girl, myself.



Comments

Becky said…
Better than Sun Tea? That's about all I've made for years. A tea make with Tazo Ginger Green tea is delicious, too! Thanks for reminding me to make some...right now!
Becky said…
Better than sun tea? That's the only kind I've made for years...by the way, tea made with Tazo ginger green tea is fantastic!

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