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Ice it up to the brim,

Spice it up with a hint of ginger or mint

Add a dash of lime or fruity tinge

The perfect drink when you want to binge

As a summer refreshment, one just can't beat the iced tea

It's the coolest, healthiest and most chilled out way to be!

Yes, there is no better way to fight the summer heat than drink gallons of iced tea. The perfect way to blend it is to make it with teabags or tea leaves. Two teaspoons of tea or two teabags to eight ounces of water that is at a temperature close to boiling point, steeped for not more than five minutes provides the perfect combination. Straining out the leaves or discarding the tea bags and chilling the tea in a refrigerator is the magic behind the best iced tea.

When served the iced tea must be poured into a tall glass filled with ice cubes. For sweetening one can add sugar syrup or honey whichever is preferable and flavor the same with a dash of lime juice. A twig of mint leaves as garnish completes the refreshment. This is the most authentic way to make iced tea.

However iced tea today has gone through several alterations and comes in almost every fruity flavor. From lemon grass to peach, from kiwi to raspberry, from strawberry to orange and the list is endless. One can experiment by using fresh juice extracts which can be added to the iced tea or simply use a slice of the desired fruit in the plain ice tea to add the fruity tang.

Iced tea can be served at any occasion as it is the drink of every generation. It contains medicinal qualities that help combat and keep a lot of diseases at bay. If consumed regularly it can prevent diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It helps fight cancer and heart ailments too. It can keep one's blood pressure and cholesterol levels in control. Iced tea should be had by smokers in particular as it has a neutralizing effect on the damage of white blood cells caused by smoking. A rather good drink to give children as compared to aerated drinks that can cause more damage than quench their thirst. Iced tea is the undisputable best natural drink existing on planet earth.

The best iced tea by far is the authentic lemon iced tea sweetened with jaggery (Indian unrefined sugar). Add a few twigs of mint leaves and a large slice of sweet lime or simply add small segments of orange or sweet lime to the drink. Spice it up with a dash of salt and pepper or cumin powder.

Grab your tall glass of the best iced tea, sit back and savor each sip!