To celebrate National Iced Tea Day, I’m sitting outside, listening to one of my favorite CD’s, reading and of course in honor of the day, enjoying a frosty glass of Rose Royal (from Lupicia) Iced Tea.  It has a black tea base and is flavored with sour-sweet strawberries, sparkling wine and pink and silver cachous blended into the tea – YUM!

But, did you know that…

Iced tea was first introduced during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. It  gained wide popularity during Prohibition (1920-1933), since the cold beverage was a tasty alternative to alcohol.

But, how about pretending it’s 1921 and you need a “tasty cold beverage” , that mixes both tea and alcohol.  Try this recipe but make sure you drink it out of one of your  fanciest teacups, just in case you get raided by the agents of the Bureau of Prohibition. You can smile and just innocently say, but officer “it’s just tea!”

ICED GREEN TEA MOJITOS

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 glass of ice, 8 fresh mint leaves, 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/2 cup of freshly brewed green tea cooled to room temperature, 1 oz white or light rum, 1 tbsp granulated white sugar or more to taste, and 1 handful of raspberries. 

Instructions:

Fill a tall glass halfway with ice.  Add in the mint leaves and using a cocktail stirrer, muddle thew mint leaves until the flavors are released.  Add in lime juice, the rum and the sugar.  Stir until mixed and the sugar is dissolved. Serve chilled and add the raspberries as a colorful garnish!

Let me know what kind of iced tea you are enjoying today!