Summer Iced Instant Tea Punch Recipe
Celebrate summer with the beverage that the Founding Fathers loved drinking. Make your iced tea punch instantly with Waka's quality tea powder.
As with many other delicious beverages, the history of the punch is disputed. Some associate the drink name to the Hindustani (the language spoken in northwestern India) word “paanstch,” which means "five." This could stand for the five implied key elements in punch – sweet, sour, alcohol, water and spice as its origin.
The other assumption is that it was invented as a beer alternative by men working the ships for the British East India Company. These men presumably loved drinking alcohol and stored a decent amount of beer on board (no alcohol delivery services in the 17th century we guess). When the ships sailed in warmer waters of the Indian Ocean their beer, which held in the cargo bays, became flat and undrinkable. Once the ships reached the shore, these hard working men created new drinks out of the indigenous ingredients they could find instead of their spoiled beer. Ingredients such as rum, citrus and spices.
We don't know if the sailors created the first punch themselves or imported it form Asia, but they were centennially in charge of bringing it back with them to Britain, where it became a party staple. It was so popular that even the British colonies in America started drinking punch during social gatherings. Rumor has it that even the Founding Fathers drank a few cups of punch at the celebration following the signing of the Declaration of Independence (not joking, it's in this book).
In the U.S., there are different punch versions still common nowadays. One of these versions is the Southern bourbon punch. This beverage is usually associated with the state of Kentucky and other Southern states. It is made of sweet tea, citrus flavors and bourbon whiskey. In addition, there are also non-alcoholic punch versions served for children as well as adults who do not drink alcohol.
We got inspired by the Southern punch and various non-alcoholic punch beverages to create this ultimate tea-based summer punch.
Summer Iced Instant Tea Punch
8 Servings
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ tsp Waka Quality Instant Tea (use more for a stronger taste)
- 6 cups cold water
- 2 lemons
- 1 ½ cup ginger ale
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 cup strawberry juice
- 1 lime
- 10 strawberries
- 1 Peach
- 10 mint leaves
- Ice
Instructions:
1. Halve the 2 lemons, then squeeze and strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Slice the lime, strawberries and peach.
2. Pour instant tea powder in the pitcher and mix with cold water and lemon juice. After a few stirs, add the honey and stir again.
3. Add the slices of lime, strawberries and peach. Pour in the strawberries juice and toss 5 mint leaves. Mix well and taste if the strength is good for you. Add more powder as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. When ready to serve, place ice cubes in a tall glass, pour iced tea on top, leaving some room for the ginger ale. Add a few splashes of ginger ale and decorate with lemon slices and mint. Enjoy!
Recipe video:
