Ice It Up

BACK TO BASICS | by MOLLY MARTIN

LATE SUMMER, HOT DAYS. STAYING HYDRATED can be challenging when looking for flavor while avoiding both artificial sweeteners and the empty calories of soft drinks.

A few calorie-free (unless you add sugar or simple syrup) variations for differing tastes and moods:

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

• Green: Buy inexpensive bags (I recently paid $1.79 for 100 from an Asian supermarket) and brew a strong batch: 6 bags to 4 cups water. Steep only 60 to 90 seconds to avoid bitterness. Delicate flavor, lower in caffeine than black tea. For an interesting twist, try genmaicha, green tea with toasted brown rice kernels. Or add a slice of orange.
• Mint: Five to ten sprigs of fresh mint from the farmer’s market (or your garden), steeped in 4 cups water for 5 minutes. Caffeine free.
• Green Mint: Mix the first two above. The best of both worlds.
• Sage: If you think herb tea can be too subtle, you probably haven’t tried sage tea. Steep five to seven sprigs in 4 cups water for 5 minutes.
• Market Spice Tea: My all-time favorite, from its namesake shop at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Cinnamon, orange and black tea, and naturally and wondrously sweet.

A jug of iced tea in the refrigerator is easy and economical — with the bonus of bypassing the environmental load of all those plastic water bottles.