As soon as summer arrives, everyone starts craving for refreshingly cool lemonade iced tea served in tall glasses with generous cubes of ice. A very common drink in the south, it has been noted that iced tea makes for about 85% of the total tea consumption in the United States. The reason for such a high margin is pretty simple, iced tea is a healthy alternative to carbonated beverages.
Iced tea is available in many flavors, the most common among them being fruit-based flavors. Many novel flavors of iced tea have now been introduced. These include iced jasmine tea, herbal iced tea and the like. However, despite these new-age flavors and so much variety, the good old lemonade iced tea is still a favorite among many people.
Easily made at home, lemonade iced tea is healthy as well as quite versatile since it can be an accompaniment to any meal or had as a standalone drink. Generally made with green tea leaves, it has all the health benefits of tea including a high proportion of antioxidants. It is also known to be good for the heart, especially its unsweetened variant. The addition of lemon gives the drink an astringent quality, which is known to be good for your gums and teeth.
The first known recipe of lemon-flavored iced tea was developed in 1879 by Marion Cabell Tyree, the author of the book ‘Housekeeping in Old Virginia’. The book was very influential down south. Cabell had apparently collected the recipes in the book from “two hundred and fifty of Virginia’s noted housewives”. In the book, the recipe for lemonade iced tea calls for green tea. The tea is boiled and then steeped for the whole day. After the tea has been steeped, tall glasses are filled with ice and two heaped teaspoons of granulated sugar and lemon juice is squeezed over them before the tea is poured into these glasses.
Three years after Cabell published her recipe for iced tea with lemon, D. A. (Mary) Lincoln, head of the Boston cooking school developed her own variation which used black tea instead of green tea, as prescribed by Housekeeping in Old Virginia. Despite the existence of these recipes, lemonade iced tea, or iced tea in general, was made popular and sold commercially only in 1904 by Richard Blechynden at the World’s Fair in St.Louis. Blechynden saw a huge number of fair-goers looking for something cold to drink on that hot summer’s day. Seeing an opportunity, he started chilling his hot tea and sold iced tea to his customers. The beverage became an instant hit.
We are a coffee-drinking nation and every form of the beverage – decaf, regular, expresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato and ristretto is consumed everyday by millions of us. It’s the first thing we need in the morning and the last (for some) after dessert. Black, with cream, with sugar, no sugar, flavored, each of us has a preference with regard to strength. Nespresso’s taken heed of this and given us a gift in a pod with the Nespresso capsules. Available in the regular Arabica and Robusta capsules, they have some amazing seasonal flavors as well.
Nespresso capsules are hermetically sealed in a capsule that holds 5-7 gms of coffee – enough for one serving of coffee. They offer five ranges in Ristretto (25ml), Espresso (40 ml), Lungo (110 ml), Decaffeinated (40 ml and 110 ml) or Flavored (40 ml).
The variations in Nespresso coffee capsules Ristretto range are:
Ristretto Origin – Made from South and Central American Arabicas, it has toasted flavors with cocoa notes and woody undertones.
Ristretto Origin India – A blend of the finest Arabicas with a smidgen of Robusta from Southern India, this full-bodied coffee has hints of spices.
Ristretto Intenso – A strong blend of South and Central American Robustas and Arabicas, the Ristretto Intenso is a full-bodied coffee with a creamy texture and peppery notes.
The variations in Nespresso coffee capsules Espresso range are:
Espresso Origin Brazil: A pure Arabica coffee, it has a mild sweet flavor.
Espresso Leggero: A blend of South American Arabicas and Robusta, it has smooth notes of cocoa and cereal.
Espresso Forte: Exclusively made from South and Central American Arabicas, it has an intensely roasted balance of espresso and fruity notes.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules Lungo range are:
Lungo Leggero: Lightly roasted East African, South and Central American Arabicas, with mild notes of jasmine is what makes up this delicious brew.
Lungo Forte: A complex mix of South and Central American Arabicas, this coffee has heavy roasted notes with a slight hint of fruit.
Lungo Origin Guatemala: A mix of Arabica and washed Gourmet Robusta coffee, Lungo Origin Guatemala is smooth and well balanced with dry and malty cereal notes.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules in the Decaffeinated range are:
Espresso Decaffeinato: Dark roasted South American Arabicas with a touch of Robusta enhances the cocoa flavors and roasted cereal undertones of this decaffeinated espresso.
Lungo Decaffeinato: This is a slightly more complex blend of separately roasted South American and East African Arabicas. It includes toasted cereal and sweet notes with subtle and floral hints of East African Arabicas.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules Flavored range are:
Espresso Vanilla: This silky-flavored coffee is the result of a base of Espresso Forte, which is a complex and heavily-roasted blend of South and Central American Arabicas and a slightly caramelized aroma of vanilla. Espresso Caramel: On a base of Espresso Forte, this complex and intensely roasted blend made from South and Central American Arabicas has the sweetness of caramel.
Here are a few easy and healthy recipe ideas that are both quick to make and light to digest on hot summer days. With very few ingredients, the preparation of these recipes is a breeze. So go on, enjoy these easy, healthy recipes that are brimming with nutrition and taste heavenly too!
Greek Cucumber Rolls
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Directions
This is popular among easy and healthy recipes. Slice cucumber into thin flat strips using a vegetable peeler and arrange them in slices of two on a clean tray. Smear the hummus on top of each slice, then toss some feta cheese, black olives and cut tomatoes on each of the cucumber strips. Squeeze a little lemon juice and sprinkle some finely chopped dill and cilantro. Finally, roll the strips, serve the Greek cucumber rolls and see them being gobbled up by the young and old alike!
Flavorful fettuccine pasta with vegetables
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Directions
Cook the fettuccine pasta according to the directions on the label. In a thick bottomed pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the chopped garlic and shallots. After about a minute or so, add the other vegetables along with salt and toss them gently for a few minutes. The vegetables must cook and be crunchy at the same time. When they are done, add the cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, and some freshly ground black pepper to it and mix well. Serve this flavorful fettuccine pasta with vegetables for lunch or dinner as a filling, yet light meal.
Sunshine juice
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Direction
Squeeze juice from the oranges and blend the strawberries in a juicer. Then in a pitcher, take the orange juice, strawberry juice, and chilled water together and mix well. Refresh yourself with this yummy sunshine juice with ice cubes on a hot day.