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Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9

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Friday 11:47 AM – Our fairly large tea bed was in need of cutting, so we decided to do it in one shot. Cerwin used his hedge trimmers to cut it at ground level while I stuffed it in a very large garbage bag.

I spent several hours pulling the leaves from the stems. I finished about 3:23 PM.

When the tea is young, I make a quick tea by bringing water to a boil, turning off the heat, steeping the leaves (on the stem) for about 15 minutes. Then I strain the tea and add sugar to taste.

But when the tea is older (like I was doing on this day) I remove the leaves from stems, make boiling water and put the leaves in the water overnight.

Because I had so much tea, I poured each batch (14) into a large gray tub to steep overnight. I covered it with a large garbage bag. (When I make smaller portions, I leave it in the kettle overnight.) I added the sugar while in the tub, because it was still hot and could dissolve easily. The keeps the kettles from getting sticky from the sugar.

The next morning, I removed the leaves (squeezed the liquid out) then strained the tea through an old tea towel. Now we have 7 gallons of tea concentrate in the freezer. (I kept the small container for immediate use.)

I am glad that job is finished. 🙂

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To serve, I will thaw a container then add 2 to 3 times the amount water before serving. I taste the tea after adding twice the water, if it is still strong, I add more to taste. Each batch is a bit different. Sometimes I add a cup of lemonade, other times we drink it as plain tea. Hot or cold.