Fruit Tea
Since it is so dang hot, I think we need something perfect for summer. If you’re local to Nashville, you are more than intimately familiar with fruit tea, but for the rest of you, it’s something I hope you’ll find unique. It’s one of those recipe’s that everyone does a little differently, but I’ve adapted this recipe from Jennifer Justus at Garden & Gun. Her recipe includes a cup of sugar but mine does not. Adjust accordingly.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (or about 12 ounces) orange juice. You can do fresh, about 6 oranges, but feel free to rock it out with Tropicana or Simply Orange—No Pulp, though.
1 1/4 cups of lemon juice or Simply Lemonade
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
12 regular-sized tea bags––I prefer Earl Grey, but southern purists will want to go with good old fashioned Tetley or Lipton.
2 cinnamon sticks
Mint springs and slices of lemon as garnish
Directions
Combine juices in a gallon-sized pitcher.
Brew tea by bringing four cups of water to boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add cinnamon sticks and tea bags, dipping and swirling them in the water to fully submerge. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
Remove the tea bags. Allow tea to cool somewhat (about 10 minutes) before adding to the fruit juices in the pitcher. Add water to fill the rest of the pitcher and stir to combine with a long-handled spoon.
Refrigerate tea for a few hours or overnight. Remove cinnamon sticks and serve over ice with springs of mint and a slice of lemon.
Note: The original recipe calls for one cup of sugar but I think the sweetness from the juices and lemonade is enough. Adjust to taste.