Cool Off with Iced Green Tea!

Iced GREEN TEA is a wonderful way to cool off, HYDRATE, energize, and get HEALTHY!

I love the slow caffeine infusion that comes from green tea!
It's naturally lower in caffeine than other teas, so you have to drink more (better hydration!) to get more caffeine :)

It gives STEADY ENERGY ALL DAY!

For some caffeine comparison see chart below :)

This generally what I do with some notes!

Iced Green Tea

• Boil some water in a kettle.
• Wait a few minutes (green tea steeps and tastes best with hot, not boiling, water).
• I use the brand Costco carries (Kirkland Signature Ito En Matcha Blend) which gets super reviews from amazon.com for authenticity, which I think is lucky for me, and other Costco shoppers!)
• Add 4-6 tea bags to a mug of water to steep for 30 seconds! (another bit that's different for green tea).
• Most other teas are best with a steep time of around 3 min.
• Do not discard tea pouches.
• Prepare a pitcher of ice water, lots of ice, about a quart of water, AND the powder remaining in each of the tea bag pouches.
• Add hot tea to pitcher, and enjoy!

Update: An even easier way!

• Empty the powder from the tea pouch and the tea bag into a large cup - I find an old sauce jar makes a nice drinking glass; great to REUSE things!
• Fill the glass with 24oz cold water
• Your cold green tea will be ready shortly; I don't even set a timer, though it's one of the first things I do in the morning, so it's sitting there ready to drink. My son will often drink a cup if it is there! So, I usually make two each day.
• I drink it once, and then fill again with water, for a second weaker serving of green tea.

Click on image below for BENEFITS of GREEN TEA.

Caffeine is so helpful to our bodies in MANY WAYS! Here is a look at how much caffeine you get from different sources :)

Caffeine Content

RELATED POSTS
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3 Bountiful Benefits of Coffee and Caffeine [and tea]
Hydration!
Lucky 7 Sipping Suggestions (tea is among these healthy drinking ideas)
Five Coffee Tricks [to decrease caffeine intake BESIDES switching to green tea!]

BONUS TIP from the Dr Oz Show: if you're interested in humidity, key in on DEW POINT (at 70 degrees or higher, it will feel really humid) during weather reports. Humidity is NOT the number to look for, since it varies quite a bit depending on temperature and precipitation. Therefore, there isn't an ideal percentage to hope for if you prefer less sticky days.  In Cleveland, OH, we're very familiar with sticky days!

Five Coffee Tricks!

Benefits of Caffeine...there are many...here are three LOADED benefits!

Looking for a little caffeine boost that won't keep you up all night?

1. Try DECAFFEINATED coffee.  Not much of a trick, but DID YOU KNOW that there are about 20mg of caffeine in a cup of decaf?  Plus, try spicing it up with #4!

CAFFEINE CONTENT

15-30mg -- Green tea, Special Dark Bar, DECAF Coffee
40-70mg -- Black tea, colas, Mountain Dew, espresso
FDA limits amount of caffeine in pop to 71mg and Mountain Dew has this maximal level
100-200mg -- Coffee

Note: drink for drink, coffee has more caffeine than espresso!  Ounce for ounce, espresso leads!

2. ALTER YOUR INTAKE -- try any COMBINATION of regular and decaf.

For example, 1/2 and 1/2, a quarter regular, or a quarter decaf.

3. If you're anything like me, and the simple THOUGHT of coffee gives you energy, 

then try this SWITCH-A-ROO.

Fill a regular tin of coffee with decaffeinated coffee.  Just a little mental trick; you'll see a container of "regular" every time you use it!

If you like to drink several cups of coffee, your body can take in the caffeine a bit more SLOWLY, and enjoy your cup(s) over a longer period of time.

4. Now for the FLAVOR trick!

My favorite Keurig flavor is LIMITED EDITION PUMPKIN SPICE -- Yum!!

Now all you have to do is sprinkle a little PUMPKIN PIE SPICE and stir it in with a scoop of instant coffee and hit the HOT WATER button on your Keurig coffee machine!  Save yourself the 50 cents of a K-cup!

Add a little almond milk and viola!

CREAMY PUMPKIN PIE LATTE

5. To make it more like an actual latte (don't be too mad at me coffee connoisseurs!...remember, I try to make things simple, fast, healthy), add 4 oz almond milk to your mug before you add 4 oz hot water from the Keurig Brewer.  You will probably then want to warm your drink in the microwave for about 45 sec., and enjoy!

COMMENTS: Do you like instant or regular? Decaf or regular? Flavored or regular? Single cup or a pot? At home or out? Black or creamy? I suppose I could go on forever with these!