Ok, don’t laugh at me, but this my new favorite thing!! 

 I had a meeting and we were going to meet at Starbucks.  I arrived early and since it was a very hot day decided I would go ahead and get my drink. 

A venti iced black tea with one sweet -n-low, please.  This usually comes in their flimsy clear venti cup, which is the perfect size for a glass of ice tea and by the way during these dog days of Summer after 2:00 PM it’s only $2.00.

I looked over at the register and they have an insulated tumbler with a lid and a straw designed exactly like their venti cups.  “An insulated tumbler” in Texas heat is a must!”  It keeps the contents cold and the condensation off the outside.

My recipe for the perfect glass of ice tea (made one glass at a time).   

• Take a good filtered water (I use Dejua Blue) and heat 8-10 ozs in  a cup in the microwave 2-1/2 minutes. 
• Remove the cup from the microwave and put your tea bag(s) in the hot water and cover the cup.  I have a cup that has a cover (bought it at World Market) but I’ve also used a salad plate.
• The number of bags depends on what strength you want your tea.  I use one family size tea bag or three tea bags if I’m using single tea bags.
• Allow to steep for 3 minutes.  Don’t guess here, either look at your watch or set the timer, the 3 minutes is key to getting good flavor.  Some black teas suggest you steep up to 5 minutes; however, I found that 3 minutes is usually a good number for both the green teas and the black teas. 
• While the tea is steeping fill the venti size glass (24 fl. ozs) with ice cubes (I use bagged ice because I like the cubes to be crystal clear and they seem to taste better).  
• Once the tea has steeped, pour it over the ice cubes and sweeten to taste.  You know in the South we love sweet tea.

Perfect glass of tea, every single time!

The hot tea melts the ice and creates just the right ratio of water and ice to dilute the tea.  The better the water (whether it is the water you are steeping the tea in or the water used to make the ice) the better the tea will taste.

By making one glass at a time I can have Ginger Mango, then Raspberry, then Blueberry & Green Tea, and then White Ginger all within the same day and not have a bunch of different pitchers taking up space in my refrigerator.

Perfect Iced Venti Soy Chai Tea – Six pumps (six shots) of Starbucks Chai Tea, Soy milk up to the top green line of the tumbler and a cup of clear ice…..shaken please, not stirred!

By the way the lid on the insulated tumber seals so it helps keep that precious tea in the glass and not all over me, my car or workstation.

Hope you get to make a glass of ice cold tea on these hot summer days and you’ll agree it is the perfect thing to quench your thirst.

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