Passion Fruit Iced Tea – Friday Favorite

Sharing my favorite home-brewed passion fruit iced tea that I recently discovered at the grocery store in this week’s Friday Favorite.

My mom used to make the best iced tea every summer. She brewed it in a big silver pot on the stove with like a hundred tea bags and tons of sliced oranges and lemons.

I can distinctly remember that the handle on top of the pot’s lid was broken, so she’d prop it open with a ladle and if the ladle fell in, you and to pry it open with a butter knife.

She showed me how to make it one day. Everything was going great until she added the sugar. She added so-much-sugar to that pot! No wonder it tasted so great while we were growing up, but as an adult (and a nutrition major), I could no longer look at that iced tea the same way.

Since then I’d been on a mission to find a healthier iced tea I could brew at home.

Passion Fruit Iced Tea to the Rescue

I fell in love with the unsweetened Passion Fruit Tea from Starbucks. It came in especially handy during my pregnancies, since it didn’t contain any sugar and was caffeine free. I learned that they used Tazo’s iced Passion Tea bags that were conveniently sold at the grocery store.

It’s become harder to find the individual tea bags. Most stores now cary a concentrated carton instead of the tea bags. I gave it a chance but I just don’t think it taste the same.

I recently found this Pomegranate Hibiscus tea from Eating Right (sold at Safeway), which has now become my go-to homemade iced tea.

It tastes similar to the Tazo’s passion fruit iced tea but with a slightly stronger “tea” flavor. It’s mellow and fruity without being too strong and definitely not sweet.

Stay tuned next week for a new Friday Favorite!