Crazy Rant: Iced Tea

Those of you who know me well, know from time to time I have a crazy rant. That is an opinion that swells up in me to crazy illogical proportions and requires venting. It is crazy because it assumes a level of feeling inappropriate to the subject matter -- speeding in the parking lot is a favorite, politics occasionally, but today's rant is about the unexpected subject of iced tea versus soda or even bottled iced tea.

People buy tremendous amounts of soda. Soda has sugar (or sugar substitute), chemicals, goodness only knows what kind of water they put in it. It costs a lot of money and it is hard on your kidneys and gall bladder.

Iced tea on the other hand is good for you. It has anti-oxidants in it and studies have shown it helps you avoid getting colds and flu. There is even a study that shows it can reduce your risk of cancer. If you make it yourself, it is incredibly cheap. You can make caffeinated, decaf, green tea, white tea or good old fasion Lipton's. No chemicals, no scary words that end in -ate, just good old-fashioned tea.

A few Yankees at this point are rememberiing that in the 70s they made "sun" tea. This process involves filling up a big jar of water, putting tea bags in it and letting the sun make the tea. How easy right? Wrong. When's the last time you did it? Get over it. If you have a jar the right size, it probably used to have pickles in it and then you are drinking pickle-tea. Besides there is nothing efficient about waiting hours for the sun to warm your water when you live in a high ranch. It's a fun project to teach kids about solar energy, but we are now adults and we don't live in solar energy homes. So now I am going to reveal to you the recipe for perfect iced tea.


Sweet Tea the mother of all Southern drinks, sweet tea is the gold-standard
Take a two quart pot and fill it about 3/4 of the way to the top with water. Boil it. When it comes to a boil add 1/2 cup sugar (you can fiddle with this amount as you become proficient). Let the sugar water come back to a boil and then add 3 tea bags and turn the heat off. Let the tea cool and enjoy.

Unsweet Tea I usually drink a pitcher of this a day
Take a two quart pot and fill it about 3/4 of the way to the top with water. Boil it. Turn off heat. Add 3 tea bags. Let cool. (I use one pink packet of sugar substitute per glass.)

What could be easier, cheaper, more delicious, or healthy than a nice glass of iced tea. Thank you for indulging me in my rant of the day. God Bless and drink tea!