Not Your Momma's Tea-Party Recipes

What could be more refreshing on a hot summer day than the traditional Southern Sweet Tea?  What about "Tipsy Tea"....a fun "party" variation of an old favorite!

My daughter gave the me the inspiring and delightful book called, "Porch Parties".  This book is dedicated to cocktail recipes and lots of ideas for outdoor entertaining!

For "Tipsy Tea" start with a great Sweet Tea....

8 cups water
8 heaping teaspoons nice black tea in an infuser
1 cup sugar
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Remove pan from heat. Add tea in the infuser. Stir in the sugar. Steep for at least one hour.

Fill a glass with ice and pour tea over ice.

Now add 2 ounces of Orange Flavored Vodka that has been chilled.  Cut a round slice of an orange and then cut in 1/2 and use as a garnish.

Woowee...yummy...I'm sure this will be a hit!

Another Great Tea "Cocktail" is the Green Tea 'Tini

This recipe calls for the use of a speciality item called:



According to the Zen Green Tea Liqueur website, this liqueur uses "green tea leaves from Kyoto, the historic capital of Japan, well-known for it's superior quality tea."

The Green Tea 'Tini recipe is as follows:

3-4 ounces Citrus Flavored Vodka....chilled

2 ounces Green Tea Liqueur (Zen Green Tea Liqueur)

1 ounce lemon-lime soda

fresh lemon or lime slices

Using a cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, green tea liqueur, soda and ice.  Shake well and strain into chilled martini glasses.  Garnish with lemon or lime slices.

And toast to your health...after all your having your "green tea" aren't you?

Iced tea is quite versatile... and can be combined with many other beverages to enhance flavors and taste.  The famous "Arnold Palmer"...1/2 lemonade and 1/2 tea is quite refreshing.

So this summer, make it a point to try some new recipes featuring a great standby...iced tea!

Happy Summer Infusions!!

Kate

http://tea4kate.com

Life's a Bowl of Cherries

How many times have I heard "Life is just a bowl of cherries"?

And sometimes it's true.  Life just couldn't be better!

Sweet and colorful, fresh and ripe....pleasant and perfect.

But like cherries in a bowl, I only have to wait a day or two and then, I find a cherry that is beginning to deteriorate...darkened skin...a little white place.  The rotting process has begun!

I pick through the cherries, discarding all the decaying ones. Once again my bowl of cherries is perfect. I am diligent in this ritual until all the cherries have been eaten or thrown away.

I wish the "rotten" things in life could so easily be detected and so easily amended! My attentiveness might avert one disaster, and in the next moment, I am in the midst of another crisis.

I just want to enjoy that bowl of cherries!

Fortunately, tea time gives me the break I need to take a moment, breathe, relax and choose a new perspective to view my "chair of bowlies"! ( A Mary Engelbrit saying)

I like to listen to this version of the song...."Life is just a Bowl of Cherries" while I drink my tea and reflect!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqiqUeNyQyU&feature=related

Happy Infusions !

Kate

http://tea4kate.com

Perfect Iced Tea for National Iced Tea Month

June is National Iced Tea Month.  I have often wondered why July or August were not designated as the National Iced Tea Month. June's weather is often mild compared to July and August when temperatures rise and we are sweating profusely and seeking ice cold refreshments!

Staying hydrated in hot weather is important. Finding healthy beverages, besides water, that contain few additives and don't have a high sugar content, can be challenging. Iced tea meets this critieria!

Some of our flavored black and green teas make excellent iced teas; Cranberry Breeze, Arctic Raspberry, Shanghai Lime, Strawberry Cream Green. ( All them are so yummy!)

Most of us have made "Sun-Tea" without any issues, however, according to the Center For Disease Control, using the sun to make tea can promote bacteria growth.  There are a few guidelines on the following website if you insist on making Sun-Tea. http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/suntea.asp

Our Perfect Iced Tea recipe below uses boiled water which is a safer alternative to Sun-Tea.  Brew and enjoy the summer months with the second most consumed beverage in the world...tea!

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Perfect Iced Tea

For 2 quarts (1/2 gallon)

In a 6 cup teapot, place an infuser filled with 12 heaping teaspoons of tea.
Fill the teapot with water heated to 195 degrees.
Steep for 5 minutes.
Remove the infuser.
In a 2 quart container fill 1/2 with ice
Pour tea over ice
Add cold water if needed to make 1/2 gallon of great iced tea !!

Happy Iced Infusions,

Kate

http://tea4kate.com