Brewing Berry Delicious Green Tea

I am a cold Beverage Fanatic! Sounds silly but its true. Second to water my favorite beverage has to be tea. Green tea, white tea, black tea; I've been on a kick at least once for each. For a while I drank Arizona green tea. It was light and refreshing but for some reason made me frequently fatigued. This was a common characteristic I found with most store bought teas. So I did a little investigating. Shouldn't the ingredient list simply be water, sweetener and tea? I found a long list of additives in most popular bottled tea brands, and decided I could do without. So instead of wasting more time and money looking for a delicious organic iced tea, I decided to start brewing my own. This way I could choose the flavors I like and know exactly what I'm drinking. I had no idea how easy it really was!

Receipt for Organic Blueberry/Raspberry Green Tea

Brewing the Tea:

• Choosing your tea: I chose a blueberry green tea by Yogi tea. It was a few dollars more than the others but has always been my favorite, with outstanding organic quality and flavor combos. (Keep in mind how much money your saving by purchasing a 5$ box of tea bags, containing at least 10 or more servings, vs a 2$ bottle or can containing only one or two.)
• Brewing: Bring 1000 ml or 32 oz of water to a boil (I portioned the water and tea bags to match the volume of my Nalgene bottle, perfect for on the go). Once the water has come to a boil, add two tea bags, cover and remove from heat. Let it sit with the lid on at least 20 minutes so it may cool to a luke warm to warm temp.

Set aside

Making Raspberry Juice:

• Wash raspberries thoroughly. Place them in a pot containing just enough water so that the raspberries can float freely. Bring raspberries to a boil, and let boil for 3-5 mins. Remove from heat and mash berries. Place back on heat for 2-3 mins then remove. Drain juice into a separate glass. Be sure to press strain juice from pulp.
• let cool to a luke warm temp

Combining Ingredients:

This is where you can get creative! It took me a few tries to figure out the flavor I wanted. I don't like a ton of sugar and enjoy a tart taste. If you enjoy a sugary treat go ahead and add more sugar or raspberry juice than I suggest. Everyones pallet is different and this drink is meant for your enjoyment! But don't forget once you add the sugar, there's no going back, so be sure to use trial and error.

Additional ingredients: Sugar (white or brown) and lemon or lime

• Remove the tea bags from the tea. Put oven on med-low heat and add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of the raspberry juice to the tea. Stir mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove from heat and poor into container with a top. Let mixture cool to room temp, then cap-it and place in fridge to cool.
• The lemon would be the last step, after the tea has cooled, if you desire.

All ingredients done to taste

The beauty of making your own tea creations is that you know exactly know what's in it. You don't have to worry about high fructose corn syrups long term effects, plus Green tea has incredible health advantages! Studies have shown it to significantly lower certain types of cancer in men and woman. It is also been known to aid in conditions such as:

• Lowering cholesterol
• cardiovascular disease
• infection
• arthritis
• Plaque prevention

The reason that green tea has such great health benefits as opposed to other teas is because green tea leaves are steamed, not fermented. This allows the epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG to remain a compound, and prevents it from breaking down into other less effective compounds. EGCG is why green tea is so special, playing key rolls in all of the above health benefits. It fights bacteria that causes plaque, inhibits a variety of abnormal cell growth such as blood cells and cancerous cells. Its no wonder the chinese have been using green tea in medicine for thousands of years!