Reviews

Cool New Iced Drinks for the Hot Summer!

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Author Danny Parker   (United States)
Review Green Tea Lemonade

This is now my favorite hot summer afternoon drink. Simple and delicious; the key is using high quality green tea and tasty lemons. I like the Meyer's lemons in Florida , but find what you can of high quality. For the tea, it is very important to have a high quality Gyokuro green tea. These are best selected by taste, but you can now find high quality ones on-line. My favorite is Karigane Gyokuro which you can get from these nice people in Kyoto:
http://www.hibiki-an.com/product_info.php/products_id/409
But find whatever you like.

Make the condensed lemonade mixture:
8 lemons; 6 if larger lemons
1 liter room temperature water
1-1/4 cups raw sugar

Squeeze lemons and remove seeds, but keep as much pulp as possible. Pour water over lemon juice in a pitcher. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. It will be very thick with sugar, but should be this way so as to not water down the green tea.

Making the Green Tea.

Using a large Japanese teapot (holds six cups) boil water. Before adding the tea, pour water into the teapot. Let stand for 6-8 minutes. The temperature should now be about 165-170 F. Add 6 heaping teaspoons of green tea.Stir and cover. Steep for 3- 5 minutes and stir again. Then strain and decant into another container. (Important not to steep too long). It can be stored later in the refrigerator for days, but the tea will be most beautiful (brilliant green) when first made.

Making the Drink:

Fill a tall clear glass with ice cubes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the lemonade concentrate mixture over the cubes. Now, add the warm green tea to the glass to 80% filled (careful that the tea is not too hot or that the glass is heat resistant). Stir. Post a slice of lemon on the side for visual delight and add another 3-4 ice cubes or two as they are melting.

I serve to my seated friends on a tray outside under a fan. Admire the emerald green color. Oh, and the taste! How wonderful can summer be this year?
Rating
Very bad...Bad...Very bad...Ordinary...Good... 5 of 5 Stars!
Date July 28, 2008