My Monday Caffeine Hit - Sweet Tea

Trouble. On the move.

As of late, those sweet little boys of ours have slowly become little monsters. Climbing, clingy, fighting, crying, whining, dropping that morning nap, teething... Ugh. By 2pm they are HOPEFULLY down for an afternoon nap. A loooooong afternoon nap. I take about 15 minutes to sit down, have lunch, breath, and plan the rest of the afternoon, which usually means getting dinner started too. So it's lunch and a little caffeine hit and I'm good. But sadly, by this time of the day, our most loved and most used kitchen appliance (our coffee machine) has been off for a few hours. And seriously, having a flat white that late in the day just feels wrong! So, the answer?

Hello, Sweet Tea!

It's such an American thing... Sweet Tea. I love reading a trashy Sookie book and she offers someone a sweet tea. Makes me a bit nostalgic. There are many many things that I do and don't miss about the US, but Sweet Tea is in the definitely 'miss' category. I know, I know, you can buy it at the dairy and you can get Lipton, but there is always that part of me that hates giving in to things like that! Maybe it's just my stubbornness. I am a Taurus after all! That and it's probably not very good for you, and definitely not for the little ones (holy sugar batman!) ... but it's sweet tea. Everything in moderation, right? 

btw, this was a double batch :)

Anyway, here's how I make mine...

Ingredients :

• 1 pinch baking soda
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tea bags or equal amount loose tea of your choice
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 3 cups cold water

Method : 

Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda into a large Pyrex jug. Pour in boiling water, and add tea bags. Cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
Remove tea bags, and discard; stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour in cool water, then refrigerate until cold.

Grumpy pants H&W. Still handsome though. Lucky!

As far as the type of tea to use - I've heard people recommend all types of tea, orange ceylon, english breakfast... But I think you need to go with your taste buds. If you've never liked Earl Grey, don't use Earl Grey - even though that's MY favourite! Earl Grey Sweet Tea. Hot damn! Or cold damn. You know what I mean.

xo