Making Tea Concentrate

My husband loves tea and we grow our own spearmint tea but we live in the north where it freezes so over the winter we cannot just go out and pick some leaves. So we have come up with a way to keep it all winter. This method is actually very handy in the summer too. You can make the tea concentrate with any variety of tea.

The first thing that you will need to do is to harvest whatever tea leaves you have. Then go through and clean the leaves. I usually just rinse in clear water and then go through to make sure there are no bugs left in the leaves!

This recipe is for one cup of loose tea which equals approximately twenty tea tops. However, I use whatever amount I have and double or triple accordingly. I think that it is easier to make a larger batch than multiple batches.

Put the tea into a large stockpot and pour four cups of boiling water over it. Let the tea steep for at least fifteen minutes. Then strain it making sure to squeeze the leaves to get the most flavor out of them. Throw the leaves away after they are strained.

The next step is to add one and a half to one and three quarter cup sugar to the tea. You can add more or less depending on how sweet you like your tea. Boil this for ten minutes, stirring so the sugar does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

When it has cooled off pour into pint freezer bags and freeze. Carefully place them into your freezer because the concentrate makes a very sticky mess if it leaks out.

This recipe will make two pints of concentrate. A pint of the concentrate will make exactly one two quart pitcher of tea. All you need to do is take it out of the freezer and add water to it. I like serving mine when it is still just slightly slushy.

This is a healthy and delicious drink that is easy to make and serve. Your guests will love it and it is much cheaper than soft drinks!

Tina loves gardening, and growing as much of her own food as possible. She gets her gardening supplies online at Garden Harvest Supply. They have a large variety of good quality products, such as Neptunes harvest fertilizer and sturdy plant supports.

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