Reusing Tea Bottles

My husband came across a great sellout deal on Tazo teas and stocked up. This left us with several empty glass bottles after the yummy contents were consumed. I save baby food jars, so I figured I could do something with these since glass is so nice for storing.

Looking at my mostly empty French press gave me the idea. See, I've seen the Pinterest for the iced coffee. It looks great. I pinned it years ago. But I wanted easier. Specifically, I wanted something convenient that I didn't have to mix when I had a clingy, needy baby.

Adorable, yes. Productivity-encouraging? No.

Also, iced coffee just hits the spot in the summer. So, I grabbed a couple jars and with what would have made 2/3rds a cup of coffee made two bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino knockoffs. Better yet, I used my own creamer (The Heath variety that only seems to appear at Wal-Mart and the Almond Joy for my full-fat options and my store brand Hazelnut for my "I'm on a diet" option) so I had more custom flavors.

Now, I wasn't as happy with the fat-free creamer as I am when it's mixed with a piping hot cup, who knows why, but other than that, these are totally passable. I did 2/3rd coffee, 1/6th creamer, 1/6th skim milk, but the beauty of this is you can do it however you like your coffee (remember that cold dulls the taste buds a bit, so up the flavor you prefer).

The finished result.

From one pot, I can easily save up a week's worth of homemade 'iced' coffees just like I can snag in the freezer section at the store (with a better base considering that I use fresh ground Roasterie coffee in a press when the rest of the family is partaking... by myself, I use cheap, store brand Colombian roast because I drink so much we can't afford to always have the good stuff).

My girls and me at the Roasterie, after our tour--Homeschool Co-op baby!

So there you have it. An easy way to give yourself convenient, fast, on-the-go coffees and reuse glass bottles at the same time. And, I suppose, you could put tea in them, too, but I have yet to approach the deliciousness of Tazo Giant Peach in homemade brewed tea. Now, their passion tea bags...