June is National Iced Tea Month, and June 10th is National Iced Tea Day. Today was the first time this year The Whitney offered Afternoon Tea in the garden. Our tea blender created a black floral signature blend called Lavender Rose that's perfect for sipping in the garden. I was asked to make enough iced tea to serve today before I left work on Friday afternoon since I don't work weekends.
The cold water brewing method was very popular last summer but I didn't try it, so I decided to experiment with it at home Thursday night. I visited several websites for instructions and finally settled on the method at Epicurious. After the concentrate had steeped overnight, I added the additional cold water Friday morning and took it to work for a taste testing. Everyone loved it.
I quadrupled the recipe for the seven reservations today, using knee-highs [tea socks] to contain the loose leaf tea. The socks eliminate the straining step. Then I added the required cold water and put the container in the refrigerator to steep. The loose tea can steep for up to 48 hours, but I left instructions for the tea socks to be removed yesterday afternoon and discarded, and the additional water added to the concentrate today. I'm anxious to see how it went when I go into work tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I made another pitcher at home for us to enjoy. Have you tried the cold water brewing method yet? There are advantages. Cold water extracts less caffeine and tannins from the tea and there's no cloudiness that sometimes occurs with hot water brewing.
Saturday morning we went to watch granddaughter Isabella participate in USTA [United States Tennis Association] tournaments [Chelsea team] at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The rain held off just until she was done playing and then there was a torrential downpour.
We finally got to meet great-granddaughter #2 - Juliette Grace, born April 3rd. Evie has given her the nickname Jules since she can't say Juliette yet.
Juliette will be two months old tomorrow and is so sweet. 'Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on.' ~ Carl Sandburg
June - the midway point of the year - has begun perfectly!
[Jerry and Jeremy]
Then we drove to Grand Ledge, MI where our granddaughter, Tiffany, and her family live. Great-granddaughter, Evie, celebrated her 2nd birthday on May 23rd so this was an 'extended' birthday celebration. Evie loved Izzy's visit!
~ A Madeline book ~
Fairy princess outfit for tea-time [complete with fairy tea party book, pink lemonade and cookies]. I gave her a tea set for Christmas, so she's all set for a fairy tea party now.
We finally got to meet great-granddaughter #2 - Juliette Grace, born April 3rd. Evie has given her the nickname Jules since she can't say Juliette yet.
Juliette will be two months old tomorrow and is so sweet. 'Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on.' ~ Carl Sandburg
Beautiful blue eyes!
June - the midway point of the year - has begun perfectly!
Those great-grands are so precious! (As are the grandchildren)
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried cold brewing tea but I think I will, since I'm supposed to be limiting caffeine. I have some peach black tea (from the plantation at Charleston) that I think would be delicious cold. The lavender rose combination sounds delightful!