A Book of Tea For Tea

I was at our local health food store and picked up one of their free publications, Delicious Living.  On page 13 there are 4 ice tea recipes.  Below are the 2 that rang my chimes.


Peach Mint Green Tea
Crush  or wring a bunch of mint - about 2 oz.in a heat proof bowl
Brew 2 cups of green tea - they used tea bags - steep 3 minutes.
Pour tea  over mint and steep 5-8 minutes
Strain, pressing on mint to get all the goodies.
Add 1 cup peach nectar and chill.

Mango Darjeeling Tea
Make 4 cups of Darjeeling Tea using 2 Tablespoons of tea, steeped 2-4 minutes.
Strain
Add 2 cups mango nectar and chill

I warn you, both peach and mango nectars are very sweet.  If you would like it less sweet, you could puree fresh ripe peaches and mangoes and add to taste, which is what I will do.

The Sage Group, a Seattle think tank, says we are underestimating tea sales in the US.  They believe we spend over $27 billion a year on tea, importing about 234 million pounds of this wonderful stuff.  Kind of hard to wrap your head around that, isn't it?  Puts my tea cupboard in perspective, but somehow I doubt that Himself will agree.

I was packing up for a trip to the library and realized the bag I was using is one I have had for over 40 years.  That has certainly saved a lot of trees and plastics.  I confess I don't always remember my bags, but I try.  And I recycle boxes I get to send forward for presents and teas swaps.  My family got in on this early as there was a very disreputable box that got traded around for Christmas and birthday presents for years until not even twenty layers of tape could hold it together.

I just finished reading a really good book about tea - The Gunpowder Gardens by Jason Goodwin.  It was written in 1990 and describes his travels through China and India.  He weaves tea drinking, history, production, planting into one very fascinating and personal tale.  It is an easy read and a great way to acquire knowledge of tea without it being painful.  I highly recommend it.  I got it either through Amazon or Alibris for not too much money.

One of the many home churches of my German ancestors. I loved the play of the wood balconies against the walls.  This one is in Obernhoff, in the Rhine area known ad the Pfalz or Palatinate.