I have, in the kitchen of my own home, concocted the most marvelous refreshment.
Having made some hot tea by the normal infusion method, on a whim I poured the tea over some cubes of frozen water, thus lowering the temperature of the tea and transforming it from a steaming hot beverage into a refreshing chilled one.
I call this invention “tea-upon-ice.”
I find the delightful coolness of of the tea makes all sorts of subtle and wondrous flavors in the beverage apparent, in addition to being more appropriate to the intemperately hot and humid weather of the summer months.
I briefly considered applying for some sort of patent, but then my humanitarian side asserted itself. This idea must belong to the world, I scolded myself, there in the kitchen of my home. Think of the good it will do, the comfort it will bring!
I encourage you all to try it in the kitchens of your own homes. And spread the news!
A lot of people are switching to cold-brewing methods for iced tea and iced coffee, claiming that it has a smoother, mellower taste.
Just Google “cold brewed coffee” for a NY Times article on it.
Interesting! And you are so kind to share this discovery! I, alas, do not like tea, but in the summer, I enjoy glasses of a somewhat similar beverage, one that’s long been a staple in the villages of Southeastern New England, where I was raised. This refreshing beverage, served both at home and in restaurants, consists of coffee poured over those same cubes of frozen water. It is largely unkinown, though, here in the Southeast.
But…but…can you still add sugar?
Please advise.
I can see this discovery is already well on its way to causing a great sensation among the people!
Jane, thank you for sharing your astonishing news about the “coffee-upon-ice” tradition of your people. It is fascinating how often the latest discoveries of science (even culinary science!) often prove to be simple rediscoveries of ancient folk wisdom.
Jim in Buffalo, I took your Google challenge and I found this article (in case others are interested). Most interesting! It would appear others are performing experiments along similar lines. It reminds me of Edison and Tesla.
AmyC, I am only theorizing here, but I believe it would be possible to add various kinds of sugars, or even fruit juices, to the tea-upon-ice, if one wants to sweeten it. In fact, I would be so bold as to hypothesize that one might even add the honeys of various bees to the mixture, as long as one adds the honeys while the tea infusion is still hot and stirs it thoroughly.
Kevin is still laughing and has run to the kitchen to try some of this “ice upon tea.” I fear we only have green tea, I hope it works.
Hello, Sherry! I am pleased to report that it works phenomenally well with teas of all hues, including the greens, the blacks, the whites, the reds, and even the various herbal infusions such as mint or hibiscus.
Last night I succesfully created tea-upon-ice from a combination of green tea and peppermint tea. It was so deliciously refreshing I nearly fainted.
It is a good thing for you all that I am not the kind of greedy man who would hoard this knowledge to myself.
OK, “tea-upon-ice” is the funniest thing I’ve read online in a very long time. It’s http://www.jaypinkerton.com “An Open Letter to the Makers of Beastmaster” or “CharletonDamned Heston.com” type laugh like a special needs child kind of funny.
That’s my Davey. Funny like he’s from another planet kind of funny. How do you submit things to Reddit.com or Digg.com?
This tea-upon-ice thing is going to be a national sensation. Imagine if it could be poured within glassed bottles, then sweetened with a half cup each of sugar and high fructose corn syrup? Such a chilled elixir would sell in a snap!
I hadn’t even seen this entry, and was already busy at work in my OWN kitchen yesterday making tea-upon-ice. Of the green variety (so I HAD to add honey, otherwise it tastes like grass). I feel so antioxidant now! And it’s so much yummier and more refreshing than the tequila I usually guzzle…probably more antioxidant, too.
All these years, every time I’ve been in a grocery store, I have found this popular product: soda. Sometimes called cola, it is usually stored and sold at room temperature in 2 liter bottles. And it tastes horrible. Perhaps I will–and I know I’m going crazy here–try to fuse your idea of “tea-upon-ice” with this horrible product called “cola” and create “cola-upon-ice” and see if I can’t make something enjoyable.
But, in all seriousness, I took the idea of “coffee-upon-ice”, as mentioned on this site, and tried it myself. I discovered that hot coffee, poured over ice, turns bitter and flat. But hot coffee, allowed to cool, and then poured over ice, is a beverage that induces the drinker to transcend this world, and experience life on a higher plane. Really good “coffee-upon-ice” belongs in a world populated mostly by Great Dane/ German Shephard hybrids, Thursday NYTimes crossword puzzles that I complete on my own brain-power, and beer-powered-bicycles that use zero gas.
The author of ocelopotamus must be remembered as a visionary, leading our people to a more enlightened time.
You’re all mad.