Forget Arnold Palmer—you Need Earl Grey Orangeade

I don't mean to insult lemonade—it deserves every iota of its popularity—but when you consider that you can replace the lemon in its basic formula with any fruit juice you want, lemonade starts to seem a little bit basic, doesn't it? Everyone knows how refreshing an ice cold lemonade is on a hot summer's day, but the real cool kids know that there's a whole exciting world of lemon-less-ades that, for some mysterious reason, have never gone mainstream in quite the same way.

I'll never understand why my personal favorite, orangeade, has failed to capture the hearts and minds of America the way its lemony cousin has, but I do know that drinking it makes me feel like a rebel who's too cool for conform to society's beverage expectations. I feel the same way about Arnold Palmers, the delicious 50/50 mix of iced black tea and lemonade. Rebels make their own rules, and make themselves tasty two-in-one beverages that convey as much. So, fellow rebels, here's a two-in-one drink that is guaranteed to knock your socks off: Earl Grey Orangeade.

Once you've had your socks thoroughly knocked off by this recipe, I encourage you to play around with the formula, letting your imagination run wild. Swap out the orange juice for other tart juices like grapefruit, lime, black cherry, or cranberry. Try using honey or agave instead of sugar. Buy yourself a nice sampler box of assorted teas and start experimenting. Let us know all the amazing summer drinks you concoct in the comments so that everyone can see (and taste) exactly how cool you are.

Makes two quarts

• 4 cups water
• 6 Earl Grey tea bags
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups cold orange juice

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the tea bags and steep for 5 minutes, then wring them out to extract every last drop of tea before discarding. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour the tea into a pitcher, add the orange juice, mix well, and refrigerate until cold.