Because I am a person who prefers much ice in my cold drinks, AND tend to be forgetful and let them sit for a while, I am well aware of how melting ice can dilute a special drink too much and make it unpleasant.
When I prepare a special cold drink ahead of time for guests, I like to make ice to match it specifically to avoid that problem.
If I am making an iced tea, I will make additional tea to freeze as cubes. Then when they melt in the glass they do not ruin the tea.
And, if I am being REALLY fancy, other things can be added to the tea ice cubes as well. I've added small bits of fresh lemon, or a sprig of mint, and for a tea such as Boston Iced Tea which has cranberry juice in it, you can add a raspberry to each cube.
The same applies for special fruit drinks as well that you wish to serve over ice. You can freeze up some of your fruit drink and the sky is nearly the limit on things you can add to the cubes... bits of strawberries, for instance, or oranges.
And to tell you the truth, we even like to eat the fancy ice cubes plain! We will stick a couple in a bowl and munch on them as though they are popsicles!
Merme
