Lemon mint iced tea | Glutenfreewhisk

 Iced tea has always been my favorite summer drink so I have made it at home because who can rush to a cafe whenever you want one. Because it is tedious and ordering it means ordering 4 other things. So here is a perfect and best iced tea recipe. The best part is my lemon iced tea recipe is that it is cold brewed that means it is caffeine free or have very little traces of caffeine.

So, what is cold brewed iced tea?

It is simply not heating or boiling the black tea leaves. All you have to do is take the tea leaves, pour over regular water and then forget it in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. The leaves will release all its flavor in the water, and you get cold brewed black tea. I left my tea for 48 hours because I like my tea/ coffee to be strong. It is pretty simple and perfect for LPG crisis actually and this hot weather. Do it with coffee or any other tea and you will get the best cold brewed beverage.

The benefits of cold brewed iced tea are, like I said caffeine free or very little trace of caffeine is there thus making it perfect for people who love decaffeinated beverages. Cold brewed black tea is less acidic and lighter on your stomach and hence works better for your digestive system. Black tea contains antioxidants and while hot brewing the tea leaves these antioxidants are broken down most of the time, but this is not the case with cold brewed iced tea as it preserves them and keeps them intact. 

When we talk about black tea we think of masala chai and there is milk in it, but when we talk about iced tea, we make use of the best black tea leaves, and these are brewed patiently in water. And since it only has water and no milk it is a great way of hydrating and taking vitamin C and other complex making it a perfect summer drink. As an Indian black tea will always have a place in everyone's heart with some fond memories but summers calls for better hydration drinks, and this cold brewed lemon mint iced tea will be an addictive one. 

Cold brewed vs hot brewed tea/coffee is not rocketing science. It is just a simple science with simpler procedure. I have hazelnut filter coffee with me, and I love cold brewing it this summer season to have it whenever I want. I sometimes cold brew it longer than 48 hours and it keeps on getting stronger in flavor.

A lot of people love to add carbonated water or even sprite in their iced tea and I am not that person. I do not consume carbonated water unless it is the only option, I avoid it completely and I would like to request everyone to have the iced tea this way as it is way more beneficial for your system than the carbonated water one. Sometimes simple is better. For me simple is always better.

This is episode 14 in my summer recipe series, and I am really excited as this journey so far has been good. Struggle is in everything and everything good takes time (only if you are not delusional). I have shared some more excitingly refreshing summer drinks in my summer recipe series and otherwise as well and a few favorites of mine are coconut coffee with mulberry, refreshing raw mango drinks, iced strawberry coffee with sago pearls, bel ka sharbat and obviously mango blue pea coffee. For blue pea flower you can select Urban platter blue pea flower to brew the tea.

My first iced tea experience was great, and I had my first iced tea in McDonalds. I was in school and my city still and never had this food chain. So, I had it in Delhi railway station long time ago and I absolutely loved it. I have iced tea a lot of times with many misses than hits but making it at home now just makes it easier. There are many flavors of iced tea now from peach iced tea to strawberry or pineapple iced tea, but this recipe of lemon mint iced tea is a classic for me and here is the recipe to make it your favorite too.

I got my black tea leaves loose from Fort Kochi, Ernakulum's Broadway market to be exact but you can get this organic Darjeeling black tea leaves from Makaibari Himalayan Spring online. There are many more options and varieties to choose from.

INGREDIENTS -

Juice of 1 lemon

4-5 fresh mint leaves

Honey to taste

Cold brewed black tea

Mint ice cubes

A mint spring for garnish

METHOD - 

1. In a bowl take the fresh mint leaves and roughly tear them. Add lemon juice to it, followed by honey to taste and mash it all up lightly. The goal is to let the mint leaves release its flavors.

2. Now in a tall glass pour the cold brewed iced tea more than halfway. Add mint ice cubes as per requirement. Followed by the prepared mint, honey, lemon combo.

3. Mix it all up. Garnish with mint spring and sip in. A perfect summer indulgence.

Note - You can increase the quantity of mint leaves when mixing it with lemon and honey and use regular ice cubes as well. Add the sweetener as per your taste. You can skip the honey too if you like your iced tea strong and bold. I have had it both ways and it works for me.

Check the full recipe on YouTube (Gluten_free_whisk) - Lemon mint iced tea recipe.

Lemon mint iced tea | Glutenfreewhisk