My Paleo Honey Green Tea

I absolutely love iced honey green tea. I was never able to buy the gallon of the honey green tea made by brands like Sweet Leaf or others in the health food stores because they were always made with either High Fructose Corn Syrup or cane sugar, and usually had at least a couple of preservatives added for shelf life.

Because of my Celiac disease, I have a very negative reaction to any ingredient derived from corn and I also have a cane sugar allergy.

I cannot tolerate most pre-packaged food unless it is specifically advertised as a Paleo brand. I react adversely to almost all common food additives, including preservatives, thickeners, and dyes.

So I set out to figure out how to make my own honey green tea that had only three ingredients; honey, water, and green tea.

I use a 34 oz. French press to brew the loose green tea. I prefer a glass French press for brewing tea. I use the Bodum Brazil 8-cup French press, 34 oz. It is $17.10 from Amazon. I also bought the Temple of Heaven China Green Tea Special Gunpowder 1 Kilo from Amazon for $11.94. 1 kilo is equivalent to 2.2 pounds.

I store the tea in two large size 16 oz. Teavana tea tins. They are air and light tight and inexpensive. I buy the Natural Grocer: Vitamin Cottage large size store brand raw honey for my sweetener, or the raw local honey sold at my local Costco. I buy the glass pitchers from Bed Bath and Beyond.

In order to make this tea easily you will need a working ice maker on your fridge. The electric tea kettle is available from Costco for $17.00. Here is my recipe!

Implements

1 half-gallon glass pitcher

1 measuring Tablespoon

1 medium-size soup pot

1 34 oz. glass French press

1 1/4 cup measuring cup

working ice maker

electric tea kettle

digital kitchen timer

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Gunpowder green tea

34 oz. filtered water

1 half-gallon pitcher full of ice

Instructions

Bring 34 oz. of filtered water to the boil in the electric kettle. Remove the kettle from the heating element and set the digital timer for 4 minutes. Let the water cool from the boil for 4 minutes. This will bring the water to the correct temperature to brew green tea, which is 175 degrees. Place 2 Tablespoons of the Gunpowder green tea into the French press while the tea water is cooling to the correct temperature. When the timer goes off, pour the hot water over the green tea in the French press, add the lid and set the digital timer for 4 minutes. While the tea is brewing, set out the soup pot, 1/4 measuring cup, and fill the pitcher with ice. When the timer goes off, press the plunger on the French press slowly and then pour the tea into the soup pot. Measure out 1/4 cup of raw honey and stir into the hot tea using the measuring cup. The measuring cup should be stainless steel instead of plastic. When the honey has dissolved into the hot tea, pour the hot tea into the pitcher over the ice. Stir vigorously with a large serving spoon to encourage the ice cubes to melt and cool the tea to the correct temperature. There will be a few small ice cubes remaining at the top of the pitcher. Place the lid on the pitcher and place into the fridge.

#tea #recipes #Products