Just Ice It!
The hot days of summer are upon us and with that the instinct to grab an ice cold drink. The truth of the matter is that a hot beverage in the heat is what will actually cool you down. I know, I know, counter-intuitive for us – but it’s true. By bringing your inner temperature up to your outer temperature, your body actually manages to cool itself. I could tell you all about your body needing to maintain it’s core temperature and the effect that temperature has on the hypothalamus – but just look at the Bedouin’s in the dessert. These desert living nomads live in the hottest place in the world – the Sahara can reach up to 58 C – and their beverage of choice…you guessed it…hot tea.
For those of you that still aren’t buying it – Just Ice It! That’s right – take your favourite tea and chill it – it’s as easy as 1-2-3.
Iced Tea
Steep 6 tsp of your favourite tea – in 1/2 litre of boiled water.
Remove tea and sweeten to taste.
Top with 1/2 litre of cold water OR fill pitcher with ice cubes.
Voila! Iced tea.
A cool way to make ice tea came from the Maru Matsu booth at the recent World Tea Expo in Las Vegas. They put Sencha tea leaves on a plate that drained into a bowl and put a block of ice on top of the leaves. As the ice melted, the tea infused and the liquor drained into the bowl…very interesting if you have the time to watch ice melt. A variation is to put ice cubes in a glass and put matcha, or leaves onto the ice. It will melt into a nice glass of ice tea. Strain out the leaves before you drink, if you wish to have a clearer beverage.
Would have loved to see that. Did you try the tea? I wonder how well the flavours infuse without hot water.