Cool Teas for Warm Weather

One of the things I enjoy most about Nest is how naturally the store transforms to celebrate what‘s special about each changing season.  Only a few months ago we were all about looking festive and feeling cozy. Now, surrounded by breezy dresses and colorful glassware, I can’t help but feel swept up by the spirit of late spring.

Spring has always been my favorite season. I love how joyful all the little changes feel- being warm enough to eat dinner on the patio, falling asleep to the sound of spring peepers instead of the humidifier, stepping out of the house without a hat and coat on.

Shifting from huddling over a cup of hot tea to sipping ice tea is another spring transition I love.  The steeping process takes me right back to when I was a kid making ice tea for my mom while she worked in the garden.  Back then, I steeped ice tea by twisting four jumbo tea bags awkwardly around a wooden spoon hung over a tippy plastic pitcher. I can still remember how tangled everything would get and the subtly plastic taste of the tea.

I love the Mist because it makes steeping tea easy and is made of glass, so tea tastes like tea and nothing else.  While you can choose to use tea bags, the built in infuser makes the Mist the perfect tool for straining loose leaf teas or any other infusing elements (citrus, berries, etc). That means the Mist is great for experimenting with your own blends or creating fancy flavored waters.  

Lately, I’ve really enjoyed using flowering teas with my mist. Instead of loose tea or tea in bags, flowering tea is made by bundling dried tea leaves together into a little orb. When the bundle is steeped in hot water, the tea unfurls in a process that resembles a blossoming flower.  As you can imagine, the mist’s glass pitcher is the perfect canvas for this little ceremony. I especially like the distinctive “leafy sea dragon” shape the tea leaves acquire at the end of the process.

Want to try something more inventive? Right now we have two great books in the store that make perfect companions to the Mist.

Green Tea: 50 Hot Drinks, Cool Quenchers, and Sweet and Savory Treats by Mary Lou Heis offers dozens of creative, restaurant-quality drink recipes all made with healthy antioxidant-rich green tea.  I can’t wait to try the “Johnny Appleseed Iced Green Tea” which includes both root beer and apple (or pear) cider (two favorites of mine). I also really enjoy spicy tea drinks like chai so the “Invigorating and Spicy Green Tea “made with whole white peppercorns and cardamom pods is right up my alley.

 Have you ever wanted to re-create the feeling of being pampered at a fancy spa or salon at home? Cool Waters: 50 Refreshing, Healthy, Homemade Thirst Quenchers by Brian Preston-Campbell might just do that! Preston-Campbell elevates simple water to delicious new heights by adding ingredients like blackberries, ancho chiles, swiss chard, cloves and tamarind paste (all from separate recipes-don’t worry!) to chilled still water. The author also offers food pairing suggestions and serving tips. With this book and the Mist, water may become the new wine!