By Kevin Williams
I had the chance to try this refreshing drink recently in an Amish home.  An Amish man served the drink to me on a warm summer's day and, wow, it was so refreshing. Very minty. I was told that it didn't have apple in it at all, instead it had "apple mint" leaves which is something different altogether.  You can read more about apple-mint here.
Apparently apple-mint makes a good warm tea, but it was a totally refreshing cold tea. Â Here is a recipe for cold apple mint tea. Â Scroll below the recipe for the Coke stuff!
- 1 pint (570 ml) boiling water
- 2 Ceylon tea bags
- 3 level tablespoons chopped fresh apple-mint leaves
- 1 wide strip lemon rind
- ¾ pint (425 ml) dry cider, well-chilled
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 12-20 ice cubes
- 4 sprigs mint and 4 lemon slices for decoration
- Pour the boiling water into a warmed teapot with the tea bags, mint and lemon rind.
- Cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then remove and discard the tea bags.
- Strain the tea into a large jug and stir in the cider, lemon juice and half the ice.
- Share the remaining ice between four tumblers and pour equal amounts of mint tea into each glass. Stir briskly and garnish each glass with a mint sprig and a slice of lemon.
Drinking a refreshing homemade tea IS a great alternative. Â And my mother-in-law makes a superb, simple sun tea that is delish. Â It is unsweetened, but when I try to make the same tea at home it just doesn't taste as good and I don't know why. Â If I could get my hands on some of my MIL's sun tea daily I'd probably be fine subbing that with Coke, it is that good.
SIGH, those of you on my email list know that I'm a bit of a Coke addict. Â I wish I weren't and I do need to rein in the habit. Â I really tried to kick the habit earlier in the year but just ended up drinking more beer and sometimes chocolate milk as a substitute. Â Neither of them were exactly great replacements. Â On the flip, I am also drinking more water now than I used to. Â And that is good. Â But I just can't seem to kick my need for a Coke fix. Â Â But, recently, a British pharmacist created an infographic showing just what happens to your body after cracking open a can. Â Ugh, I need read and re-read this, perhaps this will prod me in the right direction! Â Click here to view the infographic and article.
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