Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Kukicha Iced Tea

I love tea. Love tea! On the 16th of January (2011) I will be one year soda free. I replaced my soda cravings with tea and have found that I don't miss the sugar filled water they call soda one bit.

.
In the north you would order tea and it would be unsweetened and come with a side of sugar packets. In the south you ask for tea and they put a syrup flavored drink in front of you that only has an aftertaste of tea.  In my unhealthy days I had no problem drinking sweet tea. It wasn't until I started making sweet tea at home that I realized how much sugar actually goes into 1 pitcher of tea. Its pretty scary. So one day I decided I would not add sugar to my tea and try to drink it plain. It took all of a day to get used to it without sugar and now I wouldn't drink it any other way.
The following recipe is for the tea that I drink on a regular basis. It is a healthy alternative to soft drinks and/or sugary drinks and, well, it is absolutely delicious and refreshing.

Tools:  gallon pitcher, large pot, tea infuser or metal coffee filter (used specifically for tea)
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Steep time: minimum 1 hours

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp loose leaf organic Kukicha


Directions:
Bring a full pot of water to a boil. Just when you start to see large bubbles forming, turn off the stovetop and place the tea in the water. Let tea sit in the pot for at least 1 hour. Fill pitcher halfway with water or ice. Place tea diffuser or a metal coffee filter over pitcher and pour tea through filter to remove twigs. Add additional water to the pitcher, to fill, if needed.

Note: If you can't find loose leaf tea you can buy organic kukicha in tea bags at some natural food stores. Eden brand makes a good Kukicha box tea.

No comments:

Post a Comment