peach tea is T H E drink of jenks black football.
& the VBS teacher snackroom ...& pre-school mother's day tea parties ...& piano recitals. ..& other things.
i have probably made thousands of gallons of the stuff. people swear they volunteer to work at VBS just for the peach tea that awaits them on breaks. it's embarrassingly simple & probably my most requested recipe... which would be even better if there WAS a recipe. i wing a lot of things.
it's just a can of powdered peach flavored tea mix (name brand or generic) doctored up a little. i LOVE doctoring stuff up. i'm sorta like ann byrn, the cake mix doctor, meets sandra lee, the semi-homemade gal, meets giada. well, kinda. i just threw that in to keep you on your toes. i AM Italian, but that's where the similarities end, sad to say. but back to all- American peach tea. i like to label it "peach/apricot/mint" tea. sounds much more complex & it gives me more credibility that admitting i dump in a canister of artificially flavored peach tea mix & add water. SO, i add apricot nectar...or peach nectar, if apricot disappears from the grocery store shelves , as it has the habit of doing. then i plop in a few sprigs of fresh mint, sprinkle in a little extra sugar & tons of ice.
one unfortunate day years ago in the VBS snackroom, when apricot nectar was nowhere to be found, i had the brilliant idea of adding apricot jell-O (you know i love me some jell-O:) into the mix....with disastrous results. there were tiny apricot jell-O beads permeating the whole mess & it was terribly embarrassing to serve up my now-famous tea as a part solid/part liquid. live & learn. tea should not have to be served with dental floss.
last june during VBS, i couldn't find apricot nectar ANYWHERE (& it's pretty expensive when you're making 11 gallons a week anyway) so i revisited the jell-O idea. great flavor, but the big question was how to avoid miniscule jell-O shots in every glass? so, i experimented. prepared the jell-O according to directions (for once) & then dumped it into the crock with the already made tea- it was wonderful-and as a bonus,cheap.... but, you MUST add the mint for the necessary depth of flavor & sophistication. it's so Southern.... mint is so easy to grow, too- just throw it into a pot or the segregated corner of your garden where it can be contained. it's like a bossy sister (no, i do not have a bossy sister, but i've seen them) & takes over everything until it has control & has permeated everything. so, unless you are a fan of mint infused chives, tomatoes & peppers, keep it apart from the rest of your herbs & stuff.
anyway, peach/apricot/mint tea is refreshingly delish. i've seen football players actually lay under the igloo & dispense it directly out of the spout without bothering with
a paper cup. i've seen football players do a lot of weird things. but, they love & adore peach tea. it's a mainstay at all thursday buffet nights- i can not make enough. it's a ritual. well, that & i don't want to even THINK about facing a 230 lb. offensive lineman if i show up without it.
this is for you, sheldon.
*peach/apricot/mint tea* (of which no official recipe exists)
1 canister peach flavored iced tea mix (lipton & great value make it)
1 12 oz. can apricot nectar, if you're lucky & can find it, peach of you can't, jell-O, if you're gutsy
3-4 sprigs fesh mint, crushed a little
water (not sure how much- about a gallon or whatever the can says)
ice
mix all of this up & stir well to dissolve the tea mix...& by the way, jell-O beads to not dissolve-ever. just adjust the amounts according to your taste-add more sugar if you want-or use apricot jell-O , if you're the brave sort. take to football practice. or anywhere.
-the snackmom
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