Tea Thyme!

I love me some green tea! Since this past fall I have been drinking it every morning with my breakfast and I definitely miss it if for some reason I don't get to have it. Along with its many other health benefits, it's rich in antioxidants and I truly believe I owe it to my daily dose of green tea that I haven't been sick at all this year (knock on wood!). I always drink it hot but since spring has sprung and the weather has been nice, I wanted to switch it up a little and try something different, something fresh, new. I decided to make a pitcher of iced green tea and spruce it up with one of my favorite flavorful herbs - thyme.

I wanted to add something else though... And what pairs well with thyme? Lemon of course! And with that bright idea, my lemon thyme iced green tea was born. 

Something I wanted to point out about this recipe: It doesn't include sugar. When I'm drinking my hot green tea, or any tea for that matter, I never add sugar. Tea has enough flavor on its own so I don't feel the need to add anything to it. I want to appreciate its taste without any interference. Also, while tea is tasty and I enjoy drinking it just because of that, I primarily drink it for its healthiness. So in that case, why ruin the healthiness by adding sugar to it? That makes it kind of unhealthy. Thus you will notice that this recipe does not include any sugar. Aside from the fabulous taste of the green tea, the taste of the lemon and thyme give it extra flavor as well.

I don't think it needs one bit of sugar, but if I haven't convinced you of that and you feel you need sugar, go ahead and add some. Do so when it's still hot so that it can dissolve and not leave any crunchy bits behind. As soon as you take the tea bags out after letting it steep for ten minutes, add the sugar directly into the tea kettle and stir until it's dissolved. Add a little bit at a time so that you can taste it as you go and make sure it's to your liking.

OK let's get brewin'!


Lemon Thyme Iced Green Tea

Servings: 1 pitcher
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes plus at least an hour of cooling time

Ingredients:
1 tea kettle of water
4 green tea bags
5 slices of lemon, thin
5 sprigs of thyme

Fill a tea kettle to its max fill line. Place on the stove over high heat. Let go until you hear the whistle. Remove the lid and dunk the four green tea bags into the boiling water. As I've recently been told by at least two different people - green tea turns bitter if you let the tea bags sit in the hot water for too long, so allow it to steep for no longer than ten minutes.

Remove the tea bags and leave the tea sitting out so that it can cool down a bit. Once the tea has stopped steaming, it's ready to combine with the thyme and lemon. Place the thyme sprigs and lemon slices in the bottom of your pitcher.

(You will notice that in this picture it appears that I have more than five sprigs of thyme. That is because I grow my own thyme and it's been kinda hurtin' lately, so I had to add a lot more to get the same flavor as one would get from five sprigs of store-bought, or heathly homegrown thyme. Pay no mind.)

Pour the warm tea over the thyme and lemon and place the pitcher in the fridge to cool the rest of the way. This will take several hours but it's well worth the wait!

When it's completely cooled, pour over ice (or don't) and enjoy! Salute!