Homemade Raspberry Iced Tea

"Iced tea is too pure and natural a creation not to have been invented as soon as tea, ice, and hot weather crossed paths." -John Egerton

Mr. Egerton had it right; no hot, sticky, summer day would be complete without a tall glass of iced tea. Iced tea ranks right up there with lemonade as one of the best thirst-quenching summer drinks. But besides being deliciously satisfying, tea (especially green tea) is very high in antioxidants, which help your cells to regenerate and repair. And since tea is relatively low in caffeine, it won't dehydrate you like sodas, iced coffee, or alcoholic beverages.

The tea recipe that I am going to share with you today is a favorite of ours, and my husband requests it every summer. I prefer to use green tea since it provides more health benefits, but any kind of tea could be substituted.

Raspberry Iced Tea

Ingredients:

4 Quarts water
1 1/2 Cups sugar or 1 Cup honey
12 ounces (3 Cups) raspberries
16 (1.8 g) green tea bags or 2/3 Cup loose leaf green tea
1/4 Cup lemon juice

Combine water and sugar/honey in a large, non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar/honey. Remove pan from heat and add the raspberries, tea, and lemon juice. Stir and cover. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain out raspberries and tea. Pour hot tea into a heat-proof container, or allow the tea to cool if using a glass tea jug. Refrigerate. Serve tea with ice cubes and lemon wedges if desired.

If you would prefer to make a smaller batch of this tea, just cut the ingredient amounts in half. For a little something different, you may want to try adding some peppermint sprigs or lemon balm with the green tea.

This is a very tasty and refreshing tea for hot, summer days. Stay cool this summer and get all the benefits of antioxidants by drinking some raspberry iced tea.

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