Toast Tea

Well, how d’ya describe it? Well, first, I didn’t quite follow the directions perfectly. I varied the “quick method” by boiling half the water, making the toast tea, then straining the toast-water into the coolish balance of plain water. Then stuck it in the fridge to get cold.

They didn’t have ’frigerators back in 1883, so I’m messing up the recipe right there. Why can’t I just follow directions?

Oh, also, I made it using a heel from a loaf of Oroweat Health Nut bread—basic sandwich bread, but who knows how close it is to what Laura Holloway assumed everyone had back in the 1880s.
So we went for a hike yesterday—more on that later—we had a wonderful dinner and conversation at my aunt and uncle’s house, and got home late.

So this is what was waiting for us in the refrigerator (well, after I poured it into a glass). Voilà: Toast-and-water.


What did it taste like? My first impression was that it tasted like . . . toast. But we both agreed that it reminded us of barley tea (which we both like, so that was indeed a favorable review). Had I used a piece of white country-style bread, like they probably had back in the 1880s, I bet it would have tasted like that. I detected a vague salty flavor, which I didn’t think was very nice.

As for its looks? Well, you tell me. I think it looked vaguely like some water that’s had a slice of toast soaking in it for a while. Hmm . . .

(I guess I won’t be making this again anytime too soon.)