Fruit Tea-Recipe For a Lesser-Sweetened Version
I was raised in the south where very sweet tea is the norm. In fact, if you are in a restaurant and dont want your tea sweetened, you must specify that you want UN-sweetened tea. Most waiters/waitresses south of the Mason-Dixon Line will automatically bring you sweet tea if you ask for tea or iced tea. Ive actually had to wait while the restaurant staff made some tea without sugar.
My grandmother uses 2 cups of sugar in one gallon of tea! Its a perfectly acceptable allotment of granulated cane product in a pitcher of Georgia tea. A lot of southerners, including most of my family members, love it, but I never learned to like the syrupy taste of it. Besides, the extra sugar only converts to fat and ends up on my hips and thighs, so I opt for a lesser-sweetened recipe.
I spent a couple of years in the north where sweet tea was not readily available. I was in heaven. I never had to worry when I drove away from the take-out window if I was going to gag on the first straw full of my drink.
Same goes for fruit teas. Most are simply too sweet for my taste. If I want fruit tea in a restaurant here in Tennessee, I ask for half a glass of fruit tea and half a glass of unsweetened tea. I get some crazy looks and normally get charged for two drinks. Okay, heres my solution.
1. Dont drink tea in a southern restaurant unless you can get to the spout and control the sugar level in person.\r 2. Make fruit tea at home using this delicious recipe. It tastes great in any season!
*4 Family-sized tea bags
1 quarts of boiling water
Quart of cold water
\r **1 Quart of orange juice
\r **1 Pint of apple or pineapple juice
\r **1 Pint of lemonade
*Green tea contains more health benefits (such as anti-oxidant properties) than regular tea but its taste gets lost when you add the rest of the ingredients. If you want a stronger tasting fruit tea, I suggest using black or orange pekoe tea bags. Sweet tea Southerners would never use green tea. Come to think of it, they wouldnt use this recipe for fruit tea either!
** You may use comparable amounts of a juice blend.
Place tea bags in a one-gallon pitcher in which you plan to serve or store your brew.
Pour boiling water over tea bags and allow it to steep for about an hour.
Discard tea bags, add cold water and juice. Stir and refrigerate overnight. Stir before pouring, serve cold and enjoy.
Yvonne Perry is a freelance writer and editor who assists clients with any type of writing project. Yvonne is available to assist you with telling your story or writing your book. Her podcast Writers in the Sky is filled with information about the craft and business of writing. See http://www.yvonneperry.net for more information about her writing services, books, writing classes, newsletter, podcast and blog.
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