I think maybe the second time I met Adam’s mom, it was during the summer.  We had just gotten out of classes for summer break and I was going to spend a week with him and his mom in his hometown of Paris.  Illinois.  Not France.  Just to clear that up real quick. 

It was actually an awesome week.  I liked his small town and how everyone had known each other for pretty much their entire lives.  I liked spending time with his mom and was relieved that she seemed to like me.  I liked meeting Adam’s future stepdad (although, at the time we didn’t know he would be his future stepdad) and while that particular day is a little foggy due to an excess of wine…. I still had a great time.

One of the things I remember from that week was that Adam’s mom had an iced tea maker.  Is it weird that is one of the more vivid memories from that time?  Maybe, but I had never seen one before.  We didn’t really make iced tea that much in my house.  Occasionally we had sun tea but that didn’t require an iced tea maker.  So when Karyn pulled out a machine after saying she would make iced tea, I was intrigued. 

It wasn’t that fancy of a machine.  If you have one or seen one, you know it’s fairly simple.  It heats up water and runs it through a compartment with the tea bags and then drips into a pitcher filled with ice.  I was amazed.

It’s the little things really.

I eventually got that iced tea maker down the road and for the first summer we had it I made iced tea all the time.  It was awesome to have a pitcher always in the fridge.  Over the years though, I got busier and used it less.  Then it broke and we never replaced it and up until this weekend, I hadn’t made iced tea at all.  But the weather this past week was perfect for iced tea.  I didn’t have an iced tea maker, I did it the old fashioned way, but if you have one, go ahead and use it.

Who knows, you might impress a future daughter-in-law.

Iced Lemon-Lime Green Tea 

• 5-6 bags green tea, more if you want a stronger tea less for a weaker tea*
• juice of two lemons
• juice of two limes
• 3-4 tbsp maple syrup OR 1-2 tbsp stevia

1. If you have an iced tea maker, follow the instructions on that and brew your tea.  If you don’t have an iced tea maker, bring 4 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Place the tea bags into a large pitcher.
2. Once the water is boiling, let it cool for two minutes and then pour it over the tea bags.  Let the tea steep 5-8 minutes and then remove the tea bags, carefully squeezing out the extra liquid.
3. Let the tea cool completely and then add the lemon and lime juice.  Add your sweetener and taste.  Add more lemon or lime as needed or more sweetener if it’s too tart.
4. Put the tea in the fridge to get cool.  Serve with slices of lemon and lime.

*I used a blend of sencha and matcha tea leaves for my green tea.