Y’all. (Because I think it’s a given that sweet tea and y’all must be said simultaneously.) This mango tea is happiness in a glass and yet one more reason to love summertime.
Last week when we took a trip to Arkansas, a friend of ours took us to McAlister’s Deli with the claim that their sweet tea was the best, insisting that we must try it. Now, I trust my friend, but I was also skeptical because it’s tea. What was the big deal? How amazing could it really be?
And then I drank some.
Y’all.
We all drank and drank, and sure, maybe it’s just because we were all in vacation mode, enjoying the treat of eating out and enjoying friendship and “the famous tea” – but we all loved the tea and took full advantage of every offer of, “Can I get you a refill?”
(Why yes. We did have to stop several times for potty breaks as we headed further up the road. Thanks for asking. At least it wasn’t just for me every time. That’s a first.)
I agree with my friend and declared it to be the best tea I’ve ever had even though I didn’t even get the sweet tea. I ordered an Unsweet Mango Tea, and I could not get over how much I loved it. I’m certain my family didn’t get tired of me saying, “Wow, this tea is good” after every sip during our next 100 miles of travel as we headed down the road toward our next destination.
It goes without saying that I decided that I would need to try and create a recipe to make this at home. Not surprisingly, I used actual mangos instead of whatever it is that comes out of a squirt pump. I do not want to know.
As if it’s hard to cut mangos and put them in water with tea bags. C’mon now.
Mango Sweet (or Unsweet) Tea
- 2 quarts of water, divided
- 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 1-3 teaspoons honey or sugar
- 4-8 tea bags of your favorite black or green tea, depending on how strong you like your tea
- Liquid stevia or sugar to taste
- In a medium-sized pot, heat 1 quart of water and the mango to boiling. Add 1-3 teaspoons honey or sugar to draw out sweetness in fruit.
- Simmer for about five minutes.
- Mush the mango in the water and add the tea bags.
- Allow tea to steep for 5-10 minutes.
- Strain tea into a ½ gallon jar or pitcher.
- Add a quart of water.
- Stir in stevia or sugar if you want your tea sweetened.
- Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
- Serve over ice.
If you glance over the instructions quickly, you might think it says to “serve over rice.” But it doesn’t. Ice and rice are different and ice is the obvious better choice for this tea.
Now of course, I will be experimenting with other varieties such as Peach Tea and Raspberry Tea. Watch for updates as I get these figured out!
Are you a sweet tea drinker or an unsweet tea drinker?
P.S. My favorite black tea is Newman’s Own Organics Royal Black Tea. My favorite stevia is Nunaturals.
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