I've never considered myself an "iced tea drinker," but that is changing. I guess I always equated iced tea with that nasty stuff they serve at restaurants-- it tastes like Lipton and has been so over-brewed that the flavor is more bitter and bedraggled than anything else. Or I would think of iced tea being that "sweet tea" they serve in the South-- so cloyingly sweet that my majorly sweet "sweet tooth" just wants to gag. But all that has changed. Sometimes someone has to put something new in front of us to try, and that is exactly what happened for me. I received a package on my birthday from my husband's aunt. She's a kindred spirit-- she used to live in France and we have many common interests. She also happens to be superb at choosing gifts. One of my favorite gifts I ever received was from her - a silver cuff bracelet with a Jane Austen quote etched onto it: "Teach us... that we may feel the importance of every day, of every hour, as it passes." Anyway, this year she sent me a box full of teas from The Republic of Tea. I'll be sharing about each of these teas, but since it's 80 degrees out today and I don't have central air conditioning, a post about my new favorite iced tea seems appropriate.

This is the Watermelon Mint tea and honestly, it's like all the best things about summer all summed up in a single sip. You FEEL the sun beating down on you, but a cool breeze tickles the back of your neck, you taste that wonderful flavor of watermelon and know that there is no place you'd rather be than right where you are, right now, in this moment. The mint adds a refereshing aftertaste and suddenly you feel 10 degrees cooler than you did a moment ago. Really. It's like magic. If this is iced tea, I'm sold!

Thank you, Aunt Glenda!

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.