Early Retirement Extreme Forums

In an effort to cut down (not necessarily eliminate) my alcohol spending, I've been making 1 qt jugs of Tazo's Passion tea lately and then putting them in the fridge for a couple pints of delicious pink tea in the evenings, which work out to $0.083 per glass, or $0.165 per quart. Thrifty compared to the $0.50-$1.25 I was spending per drink!

I really like it but would like to mix up my iced tea choices and especially find something with less packaging. I'd love to hear some suggestions for herbal teas that make great (and refreshing) iced teas, especially if I can buy them in bulk from somewhere like Davidson's Organics. I don't drink caffeine so no real tea for me, but any suggestions with those included are welcome in case anyone else is interested too.

I drink a tea concoction throughout the day that includes ten ingredients. Agua de jamaica (hibiscus tea) is great, cheap and can be bought as bulk leaves for a few dollars a pound. Add amla powder for the antioxidants and a little ginger or clove powder to give it an alcohol-like burn.

I'm also a big fan of the Passion tea in the summers.

We've been making a mint/lemon drink with local peppermint or spearmint. Mint grows like a weed and makes for tasty teas. I have one variety in a window-box, get spearmint from my parents' garden, and pick another from a local community garden.

Cucumber water is also another great option. Just drop 4-5 slices of cucumber in a large jug and chill overnight. We use a 1 gallon mason jar with a spout we picked up years ago. I've also used the tops of my strawberries to flavor water (and combined with either mint, cucumber, melon, etc.).

DW makes occasional batches of haymaker’s punch or Switchel which is very refreshing when it’s hot.

https://homesteadingfamily.com/homemade ... el-recipe/

She makes it with apple cider vinegar, ginger and lemon, leaving out other ingredients listed above - just vary according to taste.

What about plain water? I have found that just drinking lots of water has cut my beverage consumption down tremendously. Other than a morning mug of coffee and my evening cafecito (both black), I have three to five additional beverages per week, typically in 12 ounce cans or a draft from my favorite local microbrewery. I prefer sparking water (Cucumber is my favorite.) over soda at this point. Personally, I was confusing “needing” flavored/sugary/alcoholic beverages for thirst. This has also rubbed off on my spouse and our teen too. YMMV

Frita wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:37 am

What about plain water? I have found that just drinking lots of water has cut my beverage consumption down tremendously. Other than a morning mug of coffee and my evening cafecito (both black), I have three to five additional beverages per week, typically in 12 ounce cans or a draft from my favorite local microbrewery. I prefer sparking water (Cucumber is my favorite.) over soda at this point. Personally, I was confusing “needing” flavored/sugary/alcoholic beverages for thirst. This has also rubbed off on my spouse and our teen too. YMMV

Hi Frita, I regularly drink 80+ oz of water per day for hydration, and frequently more than a gallon on work days when I bike. I'm looking for non-food flavor instead!

If you like fizz, then I know many people who swear by the various brands of carbonated flavored water out there. They are generally 0 calories as well if that is a concern. Most alcoholic drinks are fizzy so you might be able to do some mixing with tea to make a unique concoction that has many of the same characteristics.

I make Kvass with berries from my garden. It will have a trace alcohol content.

Papers of Indenture wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 3:44 pm

I make Kvass with berries from my garden. It will have a trace alcohol content.

Never heard of it until now. It sounds intriguing though from the wiki! We made kombucha for a while, but since I don't drink caffeine anymore I'd need to look into viable kombucha-likes with herbal teas instead (if that's even possible). Rooibos maybe?

Well, I made up a big batch of iced rooibos and it was pretty good, but then I managed to find a local asian store selling barley tea in 1# bags for just $2.75. What a deal, and barley tea makes a GREAT iced tea. I think that may be my go to, unless I can find real loose barley in the hull for a little less, then I might try roasting it myself. But for the price, I'm really excited.

I was going to suggest barley tea too. My mother-in-law always has some in the fridge and somehow, even though it has barely any carbs/calories, it is oddly satisfying. The taste is somewhat sweeter/milder than black tea-based iced tea so it's a nice change of pace (or a caffeine free alternative). Please post if you end up trying or finding loose barley!

I've been drinking water kefir - straightforward, cheap, and lot's of probiotics (also has trace alcoholic content). It's very slightly fizzy and I find it has a satisfying flavour

@Salathor - have you tried ginger water? It looks like it is basically just boiled ginger, cooled, and stored in the fridge. You can add some honey and lemon for flavor, or just experiment with what you think would taste good.

I saw an interview with Ziggy Marley where he was mentioning it as a staple in his fridge for the health benefits. Thought you might be interested based on the pickled ginger thread.

Western Red Cedar wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:04 am

I haven't tried that, but I still have ginger left that I didn't pickle so I'm definitely going to! I love ginger beer, so that sounds pretty good.

SavingWithBabies wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:05 pm

I was going to suggest barley tea too. My mother-in-law always has some in the fridge and somehow, even though it has barely any carbs/calories, it is oddly satisfying. The taste is somewhat sweeter/milder than black tea-based iced tea so it's a nice change of pace (or a caffeine free alternative). Please post if you end up trying or finding loose barley!

Hi SWB, yesterday ended up finding loose bulk hulled barley at our local Whole Foods competitor, Oliver's. It was $1.39 per pound for the organic variety, which is still a big savings compared to the $2.75 I was paying for the stuff from the Asian store. I bought a little but have not roasted it yet--just got a sample to try it out. A coworker also suggested looking at brewery supply stores, which makes sense but I had never considered.

If you add a splash of lime juice to the cucumber water (following @WRC recipe above) right before consuming it makes the flavor profile more interesting. Can add a drop of orange bitters (technically not etoh free) or a drop of honey to balance the flavor profile to your tastes.

That's worth a shot! I haven't done the cucumber yet, but did try the ginger. It had a great smell but not enough flavor. I suspect I didn't boil enough ginger in it, but it's hard to tell. Couldn't find a reliable 'recipe' online. I think I did like 2-4 oz for a gallon. Should have gone higher, I guess?