Refreshing Iced Green Tea Recipe

 My mom used to make homemade iced tea all the time, and for some reason like her baked ziti recipe, which you can check out here, it took me this long to finally make it myself. I wanted to give her a call when I thought about making it, but knew she was at work so I began a search on Google and YouTube to find the perfect recipe.

I have watched my mom several times as she put the tea bags in the pot on the stove, so I knew the process was pretty simple, but I just wasn't sure of the exact amount of water or tea bags the recipe called for. While mom always made the traditional iced tea, I was considering green tea bags for mine. After watching a few not so great recipe videos on YouTube, I finally stumbled upon the easiest homemade iced green tea recipe on Woman's Day magazine....

Kirkland is a Costco Wholesale house brand. Now there may be some of you who would never buy a store brand, however I've never been one to shy away from them. I compare the ingredients and if everything looks the same, why not purchase the less expensive brand, right?! I have to tell you, their green tea bags are really rich in flavor compared to others I've tried that just taste like you're drinking hot water! 

The recipe on Woman's Day called for 4 cups of water and 6 tea bags, not wanting to change anything I followed the ingredients and directions as is. But after I poured the green tea into my 1/2 gallon pitcher, I realized I would need more to fill it up. I poured another 4 cups of water in the pot, let it come to a boil, turned off the heat, and actually reused the same 6 tea bags, then covered the pot with the lid and allowed the bags to steep for three minutes. 

Isn't the color gorgeous? I just love how the iced green tea looks in my personalized glass pitcher, which was a birthday gift from my best friend Becky a few years ago. 

At the time of putting the recipe together I didn't have any fresh fruit in the house, but now that I have strawberries I'm wondering how the results would taste if I added them in?! It's not as strong tasting as I expected it to be, so I may double up the amount of tea bags next time I make it. I also added in a few teaspoons of sugar, which is totally up to personal preference. 

Recipe Ingredients for a 1/2 gal glass pitcher: 

• 8 cups of water
• 12 green tea bags 
• honey or sugar for sweetener 

Recipe Directions: 

• Bring 8 cups of water to almost a boil, turn off heat
• Add 12 green tea bags, cover with lid. 
• Let your tea bags steep for 3 minutes 
• Remove bags and transfer to glass pitcher. Add in honey or sugar and refrigerate to cool

Modified Recipe from Woman's Day. 

This just may be my new favorite Summer drink! What are some drink recipes you like to make to cool things down during hot Summer days? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!