April/May 1997
By Audrey Scano
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The lively combination of fruit and mint makes Apple-Mint tea a refreshing drink after a hot day in the garden.
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A tall, cool glass of herbal iced tea is a fine
way to celebrate spring and to quench your thirst during the warm
days ahead. Pick a few leaves of mint, lemon balm, sage, or other
favorite herb and let them steep in the sun while you work in the
garden; when you’re ready for a break, add ice to your tea and
drink it down. Whether you prefer tart and lively or subtle and
mellow, whether you add herbs to your favorite black tea or brew
them straight, herbal iced teas provide a perfect forum for
experimenting with the offerings of your garden.
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Tea in history
Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage around the
world, surpassed only by water. According to Chinese legend, the
emperor Shen Nong discovered tea in about 2700 b.c. when a gust of
wind blew some tea leaves into a kettle of boiling water. A
competing Indian legend credits Siddh¯artha Gautama, founder of
Buddhism, with the divine creation of tea. Regardless of its
origin, tea (Camellia sinensis) has been cultivated and harvested
since at least the fourth century a.d. Tea remained almost
exclusively an Asian pleasure until the end of the sixteenth
century, when European traders began to travel to Asia and later to
the Americas. It became a valued commodity worldwide, and its role
in the American Revolution is recorded in history books.
Iced tea’s history is much shorter and far less grand, but its
birth illustrates the ingenuity for which Americans are famous.
During the sweltering heat of the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis,
one resourceful vendor whose hot tea was not selling well poured
the brew over ice and concocted an instant hit that has never lost
its popularity.
Today, Americans consume in excess of 33 billion glasses of iced
tea per year, and the marketplace has recently seen an increased
demand for lower-caffeine alternatives to black tea for summertime
thirst quenchers. Almost all U.S. tea manufacturers now turn out
herbal tea blends designed to be served over ice, but it’s just as
simple—and perhaps more satisfying—to make your own blends using
fresh or dried herbs from your garden.
The basics
Almost all U.S. tea manufacturers now turn out herbal
tea blends designed to be served over ice, but it’s just as
simple—and perhaps more satisfying— to make your own blends using
fresh or dried herbs from your garden.
Whether you use herbs and spices alone or brew them with black,
green, or oolong tea, making herbal iced tea is simple. All you
need is a nonreactive pot, good water, your favorite tea herbs, and
a glass of ice.
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