Iced Nectarine Green Tea

Happy 4th of July, everybody! We got up at the nice early hour of 6:50 in order to go on a long bike ride before the day heats up too much, which was definitely a smart choice. I can feel the heat coming, which is why we're soon heading out to the river before a barbecue tonight. Can a holiday get much better than that? I think not. Except maybe if I could spend half the day reading (I'm hooked on a book I CANNOT PUT DOWN!).

This iced tea is not only the first drink (other than smoothies) recipe I've put here on the ol' blog, but the first time I've ever made ice tea. Whaaat? Yeah, we just didn't really drink the stuff growing up - so I've always kind of considered it a foreign substance. I didn't realize it was so popular until I went to college in St. Louis and EVERYONE drank it. Who knew? Not me.

This drink is SUPER easy to make. Make the tea. Cool the tea. Boil some sugar with pureed nectarine. Combine, ice, serve, enjoy! If you're into sweet tea, go for the ¾ cup of sugar. If your'e more of an unsweetened-tea-type, go for ¼ (or omit completely!). The nectarines give it a sweetness already, so it's really good either way. I just happen to have a super sweet tooth and eat the stuff by the spoonful. Ew.

Iced Nectarine Green Tea

• Author: by Mary
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• water
• 4 green tea bags
• ¼-¾ cups sugar
• 3 ripe nectarines, pitted and chopped
• ice
• mint sprigs for garnish

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Instructions

1. Place the green tea into a large (at least 4 cup) container and wet with ¼ cup of cold water.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then pour over the wet tea bags. Let steep for 1-2 minutes, then squeeze and remove the tea bags.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar with 1 cup of water.
4. While the sugar water heats, puree the nectarines with a blender (I used my hand blender). Once the sugar has dissolved completely, add the nectarine puree to the saucepan.
5. Cook for 10 minutes, letting it gently bubble but not go too crazy. Stir occasionally. The mixture should be thick and syrupy.
6. Let everything cool before combining, stirring well, and adding ice.
7. Serve with mint sprigs and extra sliced nectarines.

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