Recipe: Lime & Mint Iced Tea

I don't know about where you live, but it's pretty hot here in Spain right now. One great drink to keep you hydrated when it's scorching outside is iced tea (water is boring, admit it) which is easy to find in the shops but unfortunately it's usually really over-sweetened and full of additives. That's why I decided to make my own! This homemade iced tea is delicious and best of all it's extremely easy to make. It's nice to experiment with different flavour teas and even add jazzy stuff like fruit. I used Hornimans (*snigger*) mint tea bags and added a couple of 'sleep well' teabags for a different combination (passionflower, lavender and honey), but that's just optional. You can use any brand you want!

You will need:

One lime

Three mint teabags

Three teaspoons of sugar (optional)

Large pouring jug

Glass or plastic bottle (1 litre) 

Method:

Put the kettle on, and while it boils roughly chop the lime into small chunks. Set them aside and pour the boiled water into the jug. Add the teabags and let them brew for five minutes, until the water has darkened. At this point you can add the sugar (depending on your taste) and limes to the storage bottle. Don't remove the limes from the bottle, as they add flavour. Once the tea has brewed well, pour it into the bottle. If you don't have enough tea to fill the bottle, repeat the process until you have enough. Simple! Unless you fancy a broken fridge, don't forget to let the tea cool down before you store it.

 
If you liked this combination, you might like to try:

English Breakfast with lemon
Earl Grey with strawberries
Green Tea with slices of ginger
Rooibos with coconut pieces
Green Tea with lime and blueberries...

You can also, of course, add alcohol for a cocktail version. Some nice spirits to try are vodka, Cointreau and Pimms - avoid anything milky like Bailey's for obvious reasons. You don't want a curdled cocktail, do you?


Enjoy!