Make Your Own Red Raspberry Leaf Iced Tea

Are you tired of the usual high sugar and caffeinated drinks for your afternoon pick-me-up? Do you want a refreshing drink that is good for you? Red raspberry leaf tea is nourishing for the whole body and good for everyone at any age.

This tea is good for the reproductive system for both men and women. For men it's a good tonic for prostate health. For women, it is especially good to drink before and during pregnancy. This herb is the one you want to strengthen and tone the uterus for childbirth.

It even helps prevent osteoporosis. It's a good tea for children to drink because it gives them strong healthy teeth. And you can even use this tea as a mouthwash and a gargle for a throat that's irritated!

Red Raspberry tea is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, niacin, selenium, phosphorus, potassium, and the vitamins B, C, A and E, so be sure to drink it regularly.
Here's a good recipe for Red Raspberry Leaf Tea:

Pour 1 quart boiling water over 1 ounce of dried red raspberry leaf. Cap with a lid and set this out to infuse for 4 to 8 hours. Strain off the herb and store the tea in the refrigerator.

Serve iced with a sprig of peppermint and a little sweetener if desired. Sweeteners include honey, maple syrup, and dehydrated cane sugar. Some find they like it better if the sweetener is made into a thin syrup. To make this just dissolve the sweetener with a bit of hot water before adding it to your tea. If you don't want any sweetener, you can use apple juice instead.

Diet Iced Tea Recipe

When we think of refreshing and relaxing drinks especially on a hot summer day we always think of lemonade but there is also a way to refresh and relax with diet iced tea. Just imagine having your tea the way you like it and still be able to lose weight with it! They say that when you drink hot tea it is soothing and has a calming and relaxing effect on you. Do you know that even if you drink your tea iced it still has the same effect aside from being a very refreshing drink at that?

The basic recipe for diet iced tea is very simple. You only need your loose leaf tea or tea bags, honey or sugar syrup, a slice of lemon and lots and lots of ice. Simple and you can add a hint of flavor that will add freshness to your tea. Here are the exact measurements for the simple tea recipe I just described above - this recipe is good for 2 quarts or approximately 8 cups.

Basic Iced Tea Recipe

1. 8 cups cold water
2. 4 tea bags (2:1 ratio of boiled water to 1 tea bag)
3. 1 cup sugar (lessen or take out the sugar for a diet friendly tea)

Optional: Lemon slices, fresh mint leaves
Syrup : 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water

Procedure:

1. Bring the 8 cups of cold water to a boil.
2. Pour the boiling water over the 4 tea bags.
3. Let the water-tea mixture to steep for about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Remove the tea bags and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
5. After the mixture has cooled down, add 1 cup sugar and stir until dissolved.
6. Refrigerate before serving to chill.
7. Serve with lots of ice, lemon slices, fresh mint leaves and syrup, if desired.

Refreshing Tea Suggestions:

• Set aside some of the mixture or make a separate batch with lemon and without sugar and make them into ice cubes. You can use these ice cubes when serving your tea. These ice cubes can also be added to serve cold water during meals for a refreshing drink.
• To make your tea frothy, you can put the mixture in a blender and blend it with some ice cubes before pouring into tall glasses with a slice of lemon on the side a small mint leaf floating on the froth.
• You can also place a slice of lemon in each glass and place these glasses in the freezer to chill before serving your tea. This will add to the cool and refreshing effect to your tea.
• You can add other hints of flavor to your tea for a distinctive taste, like peach, peppermint, jasmine, etc.
• You can also use flavored tea or mix two different flavors instead of just the standard green, black or oolong teas for a unique iced tea concoction. Using green or oolong tea will also be good for your diet iced tea mix.
• To make your tea diet friendly, replace sugar with honey or take out the sugar syrup.

Delicious Iced Tea for You

Many people savor drinking iced tea, especially on a warm summer day. Iced tea can trace its' roots back to the heat wave in the year 1904. A tea merchant by the name of Richard Blechynden decided to serve tea over some ice during a St. Louis expo. It was so refreshing that people realized you could enjoy tea served cold instead of the common hot methods. It quickly became a drink for all types of weather.

Iced tea can be sweetened by adding sugar. Many of the bottled iced teas you purchase already have these in them for extra flavoring. Simply open the bottle and enjoy. It is a refreshing drink when the temperatures are rising. Some of the popular flavors are peach, mango, strawberry, and raspberry iced tea. You can drink these either decaffeinated or not for a little boost in energy when you need it.

If you are more inclined to make your iced tea there are two methods to try. The first way is called the cold steeping method. With this method, a dry tea leaf should be placed in a clean container that has the right amount of cold water. It should be refrigerated for six or seven hours, then strained into a second clean container. Sugar and lemon can be alternatively added to sweeten it up even more.

The second method of making iced tea is the hot steeping method. One favorite way of doing this is to double the amount of dry tea leaves you would typically use for hot tea, infuse it for approximately 5 minutes, and then pour over a full glass of ice. For the optimum results, let the tea cool down before pouring it over the ice. Alternatively you can try to steep it for approximately 5 minutes in hot water, then pour into a container with a matching amount of cold water. This method will dilute the strong tea flavor and help avoid clouding.

Iced tea can be mixed with lemonade or your favorite fruit juices to create a fruity flavored drink. Bear in mind that by doing this you should make sure that the juice does not overwhelm the flavor of the tea, but complement it instead. Experiment with the mixing ratios for the most desired results. Once you get it right you will be enjoying your iced drink while soaking up the warm sun.