Ingredients:

• SERVES 2 (Double the recipe for 4 or more)
• 4 cups boiling water
• 4 tea bags
• juice of 1 fresh lime or lemon
• 1 inch piece galangal OR ginger, grated
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup white sugar (taste-test for sweetness, adding more sugar as desired), or equivalent of syrup
• pinch of salt
• ice cubes or crushed ice
• l4 stalks emon grass
• garnish: slices of fresh lime or lemon and sprigs of fresh mint or basil

Preparation:

1. Boil 4 cups water in a pot on the stove (I use a pot instead of a kettle, which makes adding the other ingredients easier).
2. Add the loose tea or tea bags. Stir well. Allow tea to steep for at least 5-6 minutes while you add the other ingredients.
3. Grate the galangal or ginger into the tea (it doesn't have to be grated too finely, as the larger pieces will be strained out later). Stir well.
4. Add the sugar or syrup, starting with 1/4 cup. Stir to dissolve. Taste-test for sweetness, adding more sugar (1-2 Tbsp. at a time) until your desired sweetness level is reached.
5. Squeeze the lime or lemon juice into the tea, and add a pinch of salt. Stir well.
6. add the lemon grass stalks.
   
7. If you have been using tea bags, use a spoon to press them to the side of the bowl before removing them (to extract as much of the tea as possible).
8. Using a strainer and a ladle, strain the tea into a jug. Place jug in the refrigerator for an hour, or until tea is cold. OR, if you want to enjoy the tea right away, strain into glasses filled with ice.
9. Garnish the glasses with fresh lime slices and sprigs of fresh mint or sweet basil. Add straws if desired.