Kick the Coke: Make Some Sweet Ice Tea
By David & Martha Cox 03/01/2010Soft drinks can be a real budget buster.
I have a soft spot on my palate for Dr. Pepper; the sweet taste, the fizz, the caffeine pick-me-up: I like it all. But let’s be real: Between the sugars and the price, drinking very much of it simply isn’t going to do a lot for me. However, I get tired of drinking water at every meal. Is it possible to enjoy a good tasting beverage on a shoestring budget? Yes.
Enter the Ice Tea
One of my favorite drinks–perhaps stemming from my southern heritage–is sweet ice tea. Sweet ice tea is good for cooling off on a hot summer day, washing down a mouthful of warm food, or just sipping casually. It has caffeine, just like Coke and other soft drinks, but it doesn’t have as much sugar (provided you don’t over-sweeten it). Altogether, it’s a healthier alternative to sodas, and a tastier alternative to water.
You don’t have to make it very sweet to get a lot of taste from a glass of this stuff, nor will you have to fork over a $1.50 or more every time you want to enjoy some. For $2, you can make enough ice tea to last you a month (or more, depending on how much you drink).
My favorite brand of ice tea is actually the Wal-Mart brand. No, I’m not just saying that because I’m cheap; Great Value Ice Tea actually is my favorite tea blend for making ice tea. And for about $2, you can get a box containing 24 family-size tea bags. It’s great!
Each family size bag is large enough to make 1 quart of tea. Wal-Mart has its own directions for brewing ice tea stamped on the side of the box, but following their instructions will yield a very strong tea; if you like your tea a little lighter, follow my advice.
The Process
- Fill a 2-quart pitcher half-full of warm water (Tip: Glass pitchers actually produce the best tasting tea).
- Dissolve 1/8 of a Cup of sugar into the water; slosh it around to make sure it’s good and dissolved before proceeding.
- Dangle 2 family-size tea bags into the pitcher.
- Fill the pitcher with warm water, ensuring the tea bags get soaked.
- Lightly cap the pitcher to hold the tea bags in place, submerged in the water. You don’t want to go fishing loose tea bags out of a pitcher of tea, so make sure the bags aren’t going anywhere.
- Set the pitcher on the counter for about 5-10 minutes. The water will slowly change to a golden color; that’s the tea leaves doing their magic.
- Remove the tea bags from the tea, and throw them away.
That’s it! You’re done. Refrigerate your pitcher of tea, and serve over ice in a tall glass when you’re ready to drink it.
At $2 for 24 quarts of tea, this comes out to less than $0.50 per pitcher, making it a great way to enjoy a tasty beverage on a shoestring budget.
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