90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 52 Sweet Tea

Growing up in the country during the fifties and sixties meant that every friends’ house had a pitcher of sweet iced tea in the refrigerator.  We drank iced tea with lunch, dinner and on very hot days, all day.  Everyone had their own recipe and a special pitcher in which to make it.  My mom was terrible at making iced tea so we used a pre-made mix or just drank milk and water.

Mrs. K on the other hand made the best iced sweet tea I have ever had.  She lived just up the road and her daughter was my best friend.  We drank the tea out of tall Tupperware cups and now when I drink sweetened iced tea it takes me back to those halcyon days.

Anyone ready to share their favorite sweet tea recipe?  Something the rest of us can duplicate?  Send me your formulas and I will reproduce them to the best of my ability.  I will taste test them in a Tupperware cup and publish the one that takes me back to childhood and Mrs. K’s kitchen.

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Tea with the Governor

One of my all time favorite teas used to be served at the Governors’ Palace in Historical Williamsburg.  When I was a teen, which was too long ago to figure out, my family and I bought tickets to tea on the lawn.  The tea was steeped in china teapots served by women in period costume.  It was black tea with orange peel and cloves, absolutely delicious.  The only tea I can find that comes near the taste is Constant Comment by Bigelow.

Write to me with the memories invoked by your favorite teas.  I’d love to hear from you.

Life’s Journey with Tea

Blogging about tea started me thinking about the memories that go along with certain teas.  For example, the first tea I remember drinking is called Cambric Tea, made from milk, hot water and sugar.  My grandmother used to heat the water on a wood cook stove and make this tea for me when I was a child.

Send in your comments about tea, favorite flavors, and memories associated with them.  More of our recollections tomorrow.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 49 The Benefits of Tea

One of the unexpected results of the 15 day Juice Reboot, see category below, was a change from drinking coffee to tea.  My daughter asked me about my favorite teas and if I’ve seen any benefit from the change.

Drinking tea instead of coffee has completely healed the acid reflux I was experiencing.  It doesn’t seem to matter what type of tea it is, the calcium antacids remain in the bottle.  I was taking at least 2 antacids before bed almost every night before the reboot.  I was also drinking decaffeinated coffee from Starbucks and other cafe’s along with sodas with fast food.  The sodas and coffee were associated with the acidic problem in my stomach.

The other major benefit comes from fresh mint tea which is by far my favorite.  We grow spearmint, peppermint, and for the first time Stevia  in our garden.  The mints are easy to get started and hard to kill, plus they spread over a period of time.  12 stalks of mint plus about 20 leaves of Stevia make 2 quarts of tea.  Iced or hot it is delicious without the effects of sugar and it settles all stomach issues.

Whenever, my children caught a stomach flu or other digestive tract disorder, the first thing we would do is run to the garden for some mint and make tea.  It always made them feel better.