Hey Pesto!: The Joy of

There is simply nothing as refreshing as home made Iced Tea!

And I speak from great experience!

This summer has been extremely hot, fortunately not humid, but what should have been a ‘heat wave’ and should have passed allowing us and our houses to cool down has continued on and on for weeks – and if you’ve had rain and cloud for weeks and weeks and would like to exchange, believe me it can become very tiring indeed (probably like weeks and weeks of rain and cloud!).

Our island house is very old with thick stone walls and high ceilings and is usually cool, but this year, due to the unrelenting ‘wave’ it has just got hotter and hotter and everything inside is hot to the touch – the beds feel as though the electric blankets are on high – to the point that I did actually check that they weren’t plugged in.

I have taken to showering just before going to bed, literally from the shower to the bed and lying down damp – there was practically steam coming off the sheets! I would not recommend this method of going to sleep as it must be the fastest way to get rheumatism or arthritis, especially if the fan is on – it does help but I take no responsibility for aches and pains – you try it at your own risk! Another friend of mine has been going to bed on damp/wet towels – no responsibility for that either!

Iced Tea, homemade, is so easy and a million times nicer and better for you that anything in a bottle or can. I am a coffee drinker and love it hot or iced, frappe, milky or espresso poured over ice cream (Heaven – no calories at all!!!!) but Iced Tea wins hands down every time – even hot tea after an afternoon on the beach, with memories of the Raj and cucumber sandwiches, is amazingly refreshing. Tea is the thing! Trust me.

Tea bags, sugar, lemon slices, boiling water, suitable container

Even if you never have sugar in tea or coffee, iced tea does need a little sweetener so I use 2 flat tablespoons of sugar or sweetener (your preference and your responsibility) into my 1-1/2liter Luminarc jug and dissolve with a little boiling water.

For real freshness I slice up a lemon and put that into the boiling water to infuse for a few minutes.

Pour a little boiling water on to sugar and lemon slices

Don’t be stingy with the tea bags – you need flavour – so I use 3-4 bags (and if they have strings with labels attached I just tie them together which makes it easier to fish them out all together later). Add the tea bags and fill up the jug with COLD water, pop the lid on and leave on the side to infuse.

You can leave it to infuse in the hot sun which looks lovely but then you have to cool it all down before putting it in the ‘fridge, so I just leave it in the kitchen for an hour or so, fish out the bags but leave in the lemon slices and chill.

Add tea bags and fill up with COLD water

This method works for any tea, Earl Grey, Breakfast, Assam, Moroccan (that has a hint of mint in), but right now it’s GREEN for me with or without Jasmine flowers. (See previous post Down in the jungle for Tea with Hibiscus flowers infusion - deep red and tangy)

Another thing I do to keep cool (if only…!) is to squeeze a load of lemons and put the juice in the ice trays in the freezer so whenever I need even a glass of cold water I add a lemon cube and feel much better. The simplest ideas are usually the best as we know.

I usually take a bottle of this glorious greeny/lemony coolness in a cooler bag bought for this exact purpose down to the beach – so much better than any fizzy drink, that I am not averse to on occasions but that usually end up making you feel thirstier. Cucumber sandwiches wrapped in a damp cloth would be perfect!