A-Rose-aTherapy : 10/05/15

Iced Herbal Refreshment

Tea with Dee; the French Press

My good friend Dee and I met for tea once a week over this past summer! Oh what a blessing to sit down to a cup of hot tea with your friend! Or to sip on some refreshing iced tea while talking about our families, our interests and our lives. I plan to still have tea with Dee via webcam now that we are in our RV. I hope to continue to offer various Tea reviews and ideas throughout this blog. So welcome to the first installment of Tea with Dee!

Making a large batch of tea to share with a friend or to sip on all day can be fast and simple with a French press. They come in various shapes, sizes, and even materials. They are a great way to brew a large batch of loose leaf tea or an herbal blend. They strain the tea, herbs or coffee through a wire screen at the bottom of a plunger, trapping it so you can pour your tea.

The wire screen

I often brew a concentrated blend for pouring over ice, which is what I have demonstrated in these photos. All pictures are in my glass press for easier demonstrations. I also have a insulated stainless press. Use as much tea as suits your needs and tastes. For woodier herbs, you may need to add half the hot water and let it steep until cool and then repeat with the second half of the water to extract the most from your herbs.

If you have never used a French Press, it may take a few tries to figure out how much herb or tea is needed to get the strength you desire. The directions are very simple: Add your herb or tea to the bottom of your press. Pour in the boiling water. Let steep until the herbs start to sink. Plunge the screen to the bottom of the carafe slowly (trust me on the slowly, plunging quickly can force hot water out of the pour spout and burn you!) Pour up a cup while still hot or serve over ice. Sit down with a friend and gab or enjoy a few minutes to relax and savor.

Resources for French Press:
Stainless Steel Insulated Press
Glass Press