SUMMER HERB TEA

Make Your Own Refreshing Herbal Iced Tea 

Many gardeners grow a variety of herbs for cooking that can also be used to create a refreshing summertime iced tea. Any of the mints are easy choices to make herbal tea but lemon balm, monad/bee balm, anise hyssop,  and strawberry and raspberry leaves can be blended to make delicious referring herbal teas.

What You'll Need:

Selection of fragrant herbs including peppermint, spearmint, anise hyssop, lemon balm, strawberry leaves, etc.

16 green tea teabags

Stainless steel stock pot

2 gallons (32 cups)  of water

sweetner of your choice: Splenda, honey, sugar, etc.

Citrus fruits for garnish: lime, lemon and or orange

fresh ice

These volumes can be easily reduced.

What You Do:

1. Fill the stockpot with 2 gallons of fresh water and bring to a rolling boil.

2. While you wait for the water to come to a boil, unwrap the green tea bags from their paper envelopes.

3. Collect fresh herbs and bunch them into a bundle with a clean rubber band. About 10-15 herb stems should work nicely.

4. Remove the boiling water from the stove and drop in the tea bags and the

bundled herbs. Allow to steep over night.

5. Strain the tea through a sieve and put the tea bags and bundle of spent herbs on the compost pile.  Don't forget to remove the rubber band!

6. Leave the tea plain or sweeten with your favorite sweeter.

Fill large tumblers with ice, and your tea.  Garnish with citrus slices, an herb sprig and down it goes.   Cheers!