While I was struggling to wake up this morning and trying to decide what to write about for my post, in a flash I thought of limeade. Luckily, I had four limes at my disposal. I’d never made one before, so after consulting a few recipes, I came up with my own. I am looking forward to the flavors and aromas of Fall, but because I am still wearing sandals and short sleeves and the temperature during the day stubbornly sits above 75 degrees, I can’t quite make the culinary leap. It has to feel like Fall in order for me to indulge in autumnal eating and drinking.

Nevertheless, in a fit of hopefulness that it will escort in colder weather and its related foodstuffs, I consider this limeade my official farewell to Summer. I’ve even served it in our baseball glasses from Fishs Eddy in New York, as it seems that my beloved Yankees, too, are done, done, and done for the year. (Go Cubs!)

Farewell to Summer Limeade

Juice of 2 limes
Small handful of mint leaves
1/8 to 1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup of crushed ice
1 cup cold water

1. Cut limes in half and juice them over a Pyrex glass until it measures about 1/2 cup.

2. Add the sugar and the mint leaves; muddle with a wooden spoon and mix the sugar accordingly.

3. Add the crushed ice; stir. Add the cold water.

4. Refrigerate for about an hour.

Yield: About 2 cups of limeade. Depending on the size of your glass and your thirst, this will serve one really thirsty person or two moderately thirsty people.

I recently received samples of eight types of the company’s Whole Leaf teas: Lychee White, Jade Green, Jasmine Green, Estate Blend Darjeeling, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Sweet Liquorice Mint and Chamomile Citrus. So far, I have made my way through two of them: Jade Green and Lychee White. Choice Organic Teas are all fair-trade sourced and, of course, organic, and the soft, silky bags — “tea pyramids” — they come in are biodegradable. The packaging, from the boxes to the envelopes containing the tea itself, is also biodegradable. This, of course, is friendly for the environment.

In the case of the white and green varieties, the directions instruct you to boil the water and then wait a few minutes before infusing the tea into the water for just two to three minutes. White and green teas are more delicate and letting the boiled water cool off briefly keeps the tea from getting scalded; you don’t want to run the risk of ruining the flavor with water that is too hot, according to company representative Abby Waysdorf. It’s actually a variation on instructions I’d seen from other fine tea purveyors, who instead guide you to boil red, white and green teas to specific temperatures. As for the fuss factor, Choice’s instructions are easier, and I’d venture that not many home brewers want to be bothered with a thermometer.  I draw the line at setting the timer on my oven; otherwise, if I don’t, I completely forget I’ve poured a cup of tea.

The Jade Green is comprised of a blend of green teas with subtle flavor, best enhanced by a small spoonful of honey. My preference is really for green teas that are blended with something else, such as mint, peach, or pomegranate, as I find the flavor of green tea on its own to be a little too subtle and blah. This, however, did not have the bitterness that lesser green teas often possess and no doubt the brewing instructions are helpful. I much preferred the Lychee White; it was equally delicate, but the addition of lychee made it sweet.

I’ll be back once I make it to the black teas and sample them. I need to have the right kind of milk in the house in order to do the whole process justice.

For those of us who live in places where there are several Starbucks locations within a five minute walk or drive of each other, this is not much of a surprise. Yes, Americans may be lazy, and strategically positioning oneself for optimal foot (or car) traffic is smart business for a convenience product like coffee. But even casual coffee observers would probably agree that there are probably too many locations, something the company rectified. According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, that’s precisely part of what accounts for the profit results — the restructuring charges of $167.7 million associated with the closing of 616 stores nationwide.

Starbucks does not seem to think that people are fleeing their stores for competitors or because they are unhappy with their experience. Instead, company CEO Howard Schultz told the Seattle Times that customers do not have the disposable income they used to. Although spending three dollars or more a day on a specialty coffee drink certainly does add up, we’re curious and want to hear from you, especially the Starbucks devotees.

Has there been a decline in the Starbucks product, brand, or overall experience? How? Or is Schultz right in his assessment that most American coffee drinkers are cutting back because money is tight? How are you coping with your coffee addiction, whatever it is, whomever your supplier is? Making coffee at home and bringing it with you to work? Have you switched to a cheaper source of caffeine? Inquiring minds wanna know!

The company won two Sofi silver awards last year for outstanding product line and outstanding cold beverage. Fizzy Lizzy proclaims that “no gunk, no junk” goes into its sparkling juices; there are no weird colorings, preservatives, corn syrups or other multisyllabic unpronounceable chemicals. In fact, there is a minimum of ingredients, primarily consisting of juice concentrates, vitamins, and triple-filtered carbonated water, and they range from 90 to 150 calories, depending on the variety. I was sent four samples: Gulf Coast Tangerine (50 percent juice, 50 percent “fizzy water”); Yakima Valley Grape (51 percent juice, 49 percent fizzy water); Costa Rican Pineapple (67 percent juice, 37 percent fizzy water); and Lone Star Grapefruit (70 percent juice, 30 percent fizzy water). They are indeed gently carbonated, so the fizz does not go straight to your head, but when you pour them into a glass, they develop a creamy foamy head like soda but still taste predominately like juice — flavorful and fresh. I have been referring to my selection as the “Goya collection,” because three out of four span the citrus/tropical spectrum.

The idea was born out of a bike ride during which Morrill was carting around separate containers of grapefruit juice and seltzer so she could mix them together. The epiphany to put them in one bottle led her to start tinkering and along the way food scientists (lovingly referred to as “fizzicists,” hee hee) got involved to help make the product shelf-stable. Fizzy Lizzy started in 2000 with four selections: cranberry, grapefruit, pineapple and orange, the latter of which has since been discontinued. Any time someone combines natural ingredients together in a caffeine-free (or low-caffeine), ready-to-drink product that tastes good, I’m generally a happy beverage drinker. It is a great alternative to bottled water, flavored water (which usually is loaded with fake sugars) and flavored seltzer (which isn’t usually flavorful enough), but not overly sweet like juice can be. Given the fruit focus and the fact that the company has devoted an entire page to drinks it calls Dizzy Lizzys, I imagine a considerable potential for alcoholic applications. Products like Fizzy Lizzy will make room in my refrigerator and push aside (temporarily) my own personal, ongoing alchemical experimental of seltzer, juice, iced tea and ginger ale.

You are not likely to find Fizzy Lizzy at most mass merchandisers, but gourmet, natural and thoughtful retailers/grocers are carrying it, along with some cafes and coffeeshops. (Litmus test: You can find it at Whole Foods and Morrill says Wegmans will have it in the fall.) To find a store near you, head to the web site and click on “find fizzy” and put in your zip code. If noone near you carries it, there’s a handy downloadable PDF letter you can take to the retailer to request it.

Single bottles usually retail for $1.49-$1.99 and the four-packs can be found for about $5.99.

Photos from Fizzy Lizzy.

A few months ago, when I was eliminating coffee from my diet (too much acid; its absence, however, pains me in other ways) and switching strictly to tea full-time, I fell in love with a brew Teavana was selling, a combination of half Rooibos Chai and half Mate Vana. The mix boasts half the caffeine of a regular black tea because rooibos, or red teas, have none. Together, the fruity-spicy rooibos and the caramel and chocolate notes of mate make for a great tea — hot or iced.

For hot tea, Teavana recommends 1.5 teaspoons of loose tea per 8 ounces of liquid, and a brewing time of 5-6 minutes. For iced tea, you need double the amount of tea, which insures, as with iced coffee, that once you add the ice it will not become diluted. I decided to try this as an iced tea, so I took out my Mr. Coffee (irony!) Iced Tea maker, filled it up with its requisite 32 ounces of water, and let it go. Of course, people made iced tea with hot water and let it steep in the sun or elsewhere long before such modern conveniences were invented, so if you follow your own patented method of making iced tea, just be sure to adjust the amounts according to the size of your vessel of choice.

Ingredients
10 tsp. Mate Vana/Rooibos Chai or other looseleaf tea of your choice
32 ounces of water
3-4 generous handfuls of ice
Sugar, honey, or lemon to taste (I used about 3 tbsp. of honey)

If you are using an iced tea maker, follow the instructions per your manufacturer. Mine requires 32 ounces of water. I let it brew and then after it was finished, I added the honey while it was hot (it dissolves more quickly that way, ditto for sugar); added the ice, and put the pitcher in the fridge. It took less than hour to achieve a perfect chill, just in time for a sweltering weekend on the horizon. Enjoy!