Brew Ice Tea With Cold Water, Cheap and Delicious

 

 

Above is a photo of the ice tea I am making using cold water, this is how it looks after about two hours.

I make ice tea in a pitcher and it is so easy. I put 4 tablespoons of loose leaf tea in a tea infuser in a pitcher of cold water. I think mine is a quart size so this gives 4 eight ounce glasses. I use some black tea and some with a flavor like Earl Grey. Wait 10 hours, remove the tea infuser and voila. Put it in the refrigerator and then enjoy your tea. This is very inexpensive, perhaps 30 cents for 16 ounces versus $1.50 or more for a 16 oz. bottle. Plus you can do any flavors you like including decaff and herbal.

Also in the photo is the new pottery vase I bought at my neighbor's pottery sale, It is cream color with a marbling effect of pale blue. The flowers are godetias from my garden. If you buy a six pack of godetias to plant, you will likely get a lot of flowers. Godetias are not the most common of plants and I remember the plant name because it starts with god. 

Above is one of the many teas from Plum Deluxe tea company that I use to make iced tea, and hot tea too. The tea scoop spoon is cute with its heart shape bowl and I bought that from Plum Deluxe too. The most recent tea I bought from them is Grantham Tea created in honor of Downton Abbey.

I planted a small gardenia bush on my patio in a huge pot, and here is the first flower it produced. The color of gardenias draws me in as it is a pure creamy white, and wow, the scent is dreamy. This next photo I included a teaspoon so you can see the size of the gardenia flower.

 

Happy ice tea drinking and gardening, to all of us who love those activities.

National Hot Tea Month is January

 

I just had to share this sweet spoon I bought, which is designed so it fits in a loose tea container and scoops it out neatly. Plus the heart shape appealed to me. I am trying a new tea from Plum Deluxe Tea, called Creme Brulee Grey Black Tea. It is quite delicious. With my order of the heart tea spoon and tea from Plum Deluxe Tea Company they sent me a sample of Coconut a la Creme Black Tea which I look forward to trying. The new spoon makes my tea drinking more of a special ritual. Do you have any coffee or tea ritual additions?

Billy Blue Eyes commented he avoids flavored teas and I usually do. In an earlier post I featured some of my favorite black teas, all loose leaf teas and also a delicious green tea from Vahdam "Himalayan Pearls Green Tea". The package says 100 per cent Indian teas and Vahdam also has tasty black teas. I like their Assam Exotic Summer Black Tea FTGFOP1.