Brewing a cup of that summertime favorite — iced tea —i sn’t quite as simple as it might seem if you’re after a clean, crisp sip. Ice too quickly and you end up with watered-down tea; wait too long and the craving has passed. And while bottled brews seem like an easy solution to quench an individual-sized thirst, the inauthentic flavors, added sugar, and increased cost in both carbon emissions and dollars hardly add up to a healthy or eco-friendly option.

 

Instead, check out the new tea-over-ice system from Tea Forté, the purveyor of those stylish pyramid-shaped tea bags. Place hot water and one tea pyramid in the top beaker and fill the bottom vessel with ice. After three to four minutes, pour the contents of the top beaker over the ice and, voilà, you have two cups to enjoy or an extra to share.

 

Created by Peter Hewitt, founder of Tea Forté and a former designer for New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the new glass system wins points for both style and function. And with four sublime iced tea flavors like organic Ceylon Gold and White Ginger Pear already available, you’ll be sipping pretty all summer long.  

 

Story by Jessica Tzerman. This article originally appeared in Plenty in July 2008.

 

 

Copyright Environ Press 2008