Rhubarb Iced Tea is the Iced Tea that you make when you have something to celebrate in the spring, such as at Easter, Father's Day, or Mother's Day. This drink is sparkling, slightly sweet, and refreshing. And because of the beautiful colors a party on the table!
Take 4 ½ cups liter of water and bring it to a boil.
7 cups water
Turn off the heat and add the two bags of white tea to the water and let them sit for 5 minutes.
2 bags white tea
Remove the bags.
Wash the rhubarb and cut it into pieces of 1 inch (2 cm).
6 stalks rhubarb
Put the rhubarb in the tea and add 3 cups (750 ml) of water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring the tea to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain the tea and fill up to 7 cups (1500 ml) with water (if necessary).
Allow cooling in the refrigerator.
Flavor to taste with honey (TIP: test the flavor of the ice tea when it's cold, because the same amount of sweet tastes different in a warm tea and in cold ice tea)
honey
NOTES
1. - RhubarbUse the stems and not the leaves (they contain too high a concentration of oxalic acid which is poisonous). Rhubarb sold in the supermarket has nice red stems and those stems give a very nice red color to the ice tea when cooked (if you don't peel them).2. - White teaWhite tea is sweeter and less bitter than black tea and less pronounced compared to rooibos tea. If you want to use a different type of tea, use 1 teabag to get the same effect.3. - HoneyThe sweetener in the tea. Only add the honey when the rhubarb ice tea has cooled down because the same amount of sweet tastes different (stronger) in a hot tea than in cold iced tea.The amount depends on when the rhubarb was harvested. Rhubarb harvested early is less acidic than rhubarb harvested around June. You need more honey for that.4.- Vanilla ExtractBringing the tea to a boil causes the alcohol in the vanilla extract to evaporate. If you don't want to use vanilla extract, replace it with a vanilla pod. Half the pod and scrape out the seeds, add the vanilla seed to the drink, and add the pod as well. Let that soak for 1 hour5. - ServeAdd lemon slices and mint, if desired. Just before serving, add ice to the pitcher (not earlier, otherwise the iced tea will thin out too much by the melted ice).6. - Storage
Refrigerator - Store the iced tea covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It is better to keep it airtight so that it does not take over odors from the other ingredients in the refrigerator.
Freezer - You can freeze iced tea in a freezer box, without garnish. If you have already added some garnish, then strain it out beforehand. This way the rhubarb iced tea will keep for up to 2 months. Make sure to leave enough space (about 1 cm) in the box, as the iced tea will expand as it freezes. Let the iced tea thaw in the refrigerator.
7.- Nutritional value The nutritional values shown are per glass of iced tea, without lemon/mint.