With summer fast approaching it’s time to start thinking about iced tea. Iced tea is no longer only tea with lemon flavoring. Many variations are possible. As we mentioned in How to Make Iced Tea freshly brewed iced tea is better than store bought. Iced tea with sparkling water is easy to make at home or in the office.

This sparkling raspberry iced tea recipe is a refreshing change of pace on a hot summer day. Use freshly brewed tea which has cooled to room temp or is chilled. As with most iced teas, it is best to use only chilled ingredients to prevent excessive dilution when pouring over ice. This raspberry tea recipe uses sparkling water. Since the ingredients are in proportion, our sparkling raspberry iced tea recipe can easily be doubled or halved.

Ingredients for Sparkling Raspberry Ice Tea

• 2 cups chilled sparkling water
• 2 cups chilled raspberry juice
• 2 cups of freshly brewed tea (room temp or chilled)

In large pitcher mix all ingredients. Pour into glasses filled with ice. If desired you can garnish with slice of lime or lemon, a raspberry or sprig of fresh mint.

Iced tea is a refreshing drink any time of the year. With our basic iced tea recipe it is easy to brew quality iced tea. Iced tea brewed fresh at home has a far superior taste to bottled iced tea. We did a little research to find the origins and history of iced tea and were surprised to find that it most likely began right here in the United States. According to the Joy of Cooking by Rombauer & Becker, iced tea was first served during the Saint Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Due to sweltering temperatures, hot beverage sales were very bad. A gentleman by the name of Richard Blechynden had a tea concession in which he had invested a lot of time and money. Desperate for sales he began to offer iced tea to the public. It quickly caught on and sales were brisk. Iced tea has since become the beverage of choice during hot summer months as well as year round.

Iced tea is simple and fast to make at home. As with all tea it is best when brewed fresh at home. For variety add a strawberry, lemon or orange slice or sprig of mint. Follow the same general brewing guidelines as for brewing hot tea. In general the only difference will be in the strength of tea brewed. When brewing tea for use as iced tea you will generally want to make it double the strength of hot tea to allow for dilution when served over ice cubes. Remember use clean equipment and start with fresh good tasting water. Review additional brewing tips at How to Brew Tea. Below is our simple recipe which can easily be adjusted to make more.

Basic Iced Tea Recipe

• 2 teaspoons loose tea or 2 teabags per cup of boiling water
• boiling water
• Optional – one of the following – sprigs of fresh mint; lemon slice; orange slice or strawberry
• Optional – sugar to taste

Boil desired amount of water. Add boiling water to your tea and let steep (about 5 minutes for black teas or 3 minutes for green teas). Strain and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour into glass filled with ice. Add sprig of mint, a strawberry or slice of lemon or orange. Sweeten with sugar to taste.

As a general guideline for one quart of boiling water you will need 6-8 teaspoons of tea or 6-8 teabags. We suggest starting with 7 and if desired, increase or decrease amount of tea in the next brew. If the resulting brew is too strong, simply dilute with a little fresh water. We prefer using loose tea but quality tea bags will also yield a quality iced tea. Some tea companies will have tea blends specifically created for iced tea.

Spice up your tea with a hint of anise. Once you know how to make anise tea, you’ll find it a nice way to add variety to your tea break. This is a quick and easy recipe to add a little extra to your regular or decaffeinated tea. The anise seed gives even the most ordinary tea an extra bit of flavor. I find this recipe a good way to make use of some tea that is not as fresh or flavorful as I would like. Anise adds a licorice flavor. Anise tea is actually a mix of equal amounts of tea and anise flavored water. You can use any type of tea, black tea is traditional but both black tea and green tea are good.

Ingredients for Anise Tea

• 2 teaspoons whole anise seed
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2-3 cups of tea, average strength

Boil two cups of freshly drawn water. Add 2 teaspoons of whole anise seed and boil 10 minutes. While anise seeds are boiling prepare 2-3 cups of average strength black tea steeping 5-7 minutes. Remember if using green tea steeping time is 3- 4 minutes. Time this so that as anise brew is finishing your tea is ready. Strain anise seeds out of the anise brew pouring the anise brew into tea. Discard the anise seeds. Mix your brewed tea and anise brew and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Chai tea is rapidly gaining in popularity in America. Chai tea is a spiced black tea with milk. It is very easy to make at home and when you make it at home you can adjust the spices to suit your taste. Chai tea is usually made with black tea, milk, spices and honey or sugar. Typical spices are ginger, nutmeg, cloves, peppercorn and cinnamon.

This is an easy to make recipe for Chai Tea. Unlike most directions for tea, this recipe calls for bring brewed tea back to a boil once the milk and other ingredients are added.

Ingredients for Chai Tea

• 2 cups water
• 4 black tea bags
• 2-3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups milk

Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add tea bags and reduce heat to a simmer. Do not cover but let simmer 2 minutes. Remove the teabags. Add the remaining ingredients – honey, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and milk and stir. Heat to a boil at low heat- that should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir rapidly with a whisk. Pour into 2 large warmed mugs and serve.

Experiment a little and try adding 2-3 pieces whole cloves, 2-3 whole peppercorn or cardamom. Filter them out before serving. This is a refreshing beverage on a cold afternoon.