TEA JOURNAL | RASPBERRY HERBAL ICED TEA

TEA JOURNAL | Raspberry Herbal Iced Tea from Harney & Sons.  This blend of Raspberry Leaves, Hibiscus, Rosehips, Apple, Orange & Lemon Peel, Red Poppies, Spearmint and Peppermint with some added raspberry flavoring offers the taste buds a similar experience of tangy tartness to drinking cranberry juice cocktail but without the harshness of cranberry compliments of the sweetening elements which round out the flavor.

I am absolutely in love with this tea, but there are some drawbacks to purchasing a tin.  It is important to note that this tin only contains 6 tea bags.  The tea bags are enormous, but there are only 6.  The cost of a tin at Barnes & Noble is $8.95 plus tax which is slightly less than the cost of a tin of their hot tea, but still seems a bit pricey at first for only 6 tea bags.  This tea, however, is superior in taste to their hot teas and when you break down the total yield cup by cup it is still more cost-effective than buying bottled iced tea.  The total yield at full strength is 3 gallons of Raspberry Herbal Iced Tea for $8.95 which breaks down to less than $0.20 per cup of tea.  You also need a vessel big enough to hold 8 cups (1/2 gallon) of liquid and roughly 20 minutes of your life to actually make the tea plus the patience to wait until it is cold enough to drink.  It's a lot of work for iced tea, but it is absolutely delicious.

How this tea works: Steep 1 giant tea bag in 2 cups of boiling water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes passes, add 6 cups of cold water, stir, and remove the tea bag, squeezing it into your (now cool) tea. After that I recommend refrigerating your mixture overnight or for a few hours as it tastes best very cold. During that time, I suggest making tea cubes in a silicone tray so you do not dilute the tea further with (plain water) ice when serving.

Want to make your tea last?: Don't waste the tea bag.  Steep a second round in 2 cups of hot water and use less cold water to dilute.  The flavor may not be as strong, but it will still be a sweet icy cold treat.