In praise of iced tea
Posted
May 19 2008, 11:26 AM
by
Donna Freedman
The temperature hit 88 degrees on Saturday, which is warm for Seattle, or anywhere else. My apartment has tall south- and west-facing windows and no air conditioning.
So I cranked the blinds inside out to reflect the sun, dragged the pedestal fan ($4, rummage sale) out of storage and made a big pitcher of iced tea. Sweet relief, the Smart Spending way.
If I lived in a humid climate, I'd probably be screaming for an air-cooled environment. But Seattle summers are fairly dry, and usually not quite this toasty. Besides, I have horizontal-sliding windows that won't easily accept an air conditioner.
Iced tea is the only possible response. And homemade tea is the only way to go.
Up to three times more than gasoline
Ever read the unit-price label on your favorite bottled tea? I have. Even the cheapest stuff runs $3.28 to $5.02 per gallon, and the flavored or "all natural" bottled teas cost $8.32 to $13.28 a gallon.
If gasoline cost $13.28 a gallon, people would riot.
Just a few aisles over from the bottled tea are boxes of tea bags. At a supermarket near me, the 100-count box of the Shoppers Value brand regularly goes on sale for a buck. That nets me 25 two-quart batches of tea, which works out to 8 cents per gallon. Those of you who swear you can taste a difference between generic and brand-name products should watch for loss leader/coupon combo deals. I've paid as little as $1.39 for Lipton tea, the brand my mom always used.
Even after adding sweetener and lemon, I'm paying practically nothing for my beverage. Besides, I have a couple of frugal hacks for those two products. I trade spent ink cartridges in at Office Max to get Sweet'n Low for free. Instead of using real lemons, I add a splash of Wyler's Light lemonade, which sells for three packets for $1 at Walgreens, or about 33 cents for a two-quart pitcher.
If you can heat water, you can make tea
Don't like artificial sweeteners? Use sugar, but add it to the hot water as the tea steeps so it dissolves completely. Unless, of course, you're one of those heathens who drinks unsweetened tea.
Everyone has a favorite tea recipe. Here's what works for me: To a cup of not-quite-boiling water I add four tea bags and let the brew steep for 14 minutes. Yes, that's strong enough to stand a spoon in, but afterward I dilute it with enough cold water to fill a two-quart pitcher.
When the pitcher is half empty, I steep another four bags, then remove them and put the cup in the fridge. Although it looks cloudy after a day, the taste is not affected, and adding water turns it that perfect pale amber. Having a cup of this elixir on hand at all times ensures that you never run out of tea, an important consideration on hot days.
You can get much fancier, of course. This MSN article has recipes for spectacular sips like peach mint green tea, minted mango tea, cranberry ginseng tea, and sparkling red and green tea.
Tea contains antioxidants, and some studies indicate that tea is good for your cardiovascular system, may stabilize blood sugar and can help guard against osteoporosis. What I know for sure is that it tastes good, it's very cooling and it's extremely cheap. That is, unless you're determined to pay $13.28 a gallon for the stuff.
