Do Not Drink List

Thirst. That's what I remember about the last time I drank iced tea. I was about 9 years-old, and I was coming in from hours of outdoor time at our camp in North Hero. I was parched and needed something to drink. In the refrigerator was a pitcher of something that looked like apple juice. A big fan of apple juice, I put the pitcher directly to my lips and tilted.

It was at least 4 huge gulps before I realized that whatever I was drinking was not apple juice. I gagged, choked, and got iced tea up my nose. I never touched iced tea since (and haven't had much apple juice either).

Until this week. On a visit to the McKains in New Haven, Ruth offered me something that looked like iced tea. When I declined, she said it was just "mint water" -- water that had had been steeped with mint leaves. I -- because I am so open-minded -- said I'd give it a try. Pretty good -- and very refreshing! We got to talking, and I realized that this is basically what iced tea is: water with a few tea leaves steeping in it for awhile. I wondered if I had been missing out?

Yesterday morning, I put 4 or 5 bags of my green "energy" tea (yes, it's caffeinated) in a quart of water and left it on the windowsill. When I came home from work, I put it in the refrigerator. This morning, I gave it a try. Pretty good -- and refreshing too.

I'm not sure, but I may be ready to remove iced tea from the "Do not drink" list.