Iced Tea 101
Posted May 11th 2008 1:45PM by Kat Kinsman
Filed under: Teas, Southern States, America, Guilty Pleasures

AOL Food has brewed up an iced tea-stravaganza! Get recipes, tips & tricks with
How to Brew Iced Tea, read our ongoing
Bottled Iced Tea Reviews, and slurp up fun historical and cultural facts in our
Iced Tea Quiz. Don't forget to c'mon back to share your quiz scores, tea brewing strategies, and suggestions about what store-bought blends we should sample next.
Get sipping!And we had a few things to say about
Southern Sweet Tea a while back.
Tags: AOL Food, AolFood, featured, how to brew, HowToBrew, iced tea, iced tea reviews, IcedTea, IcedTeaReviews, southern sweet tea, SouthernSweetTea
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
5-11-2008 @ 2:24PM
maryann said...
you have not mentioned snapple peach iced tea, its addictive, reguar or diet!!!!
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5-11-2008 @ 2:26PM
beanyfreaky said...
It sure would be nice to email the writer directly, so I could ask how you know about Lexington BBQ and K&W??! Two of my favorites - do tell! (beanyfreaky@aol.com)
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5-11-2008 @ 2:26PM
maryann said...
you haven't mentioned snapple peach iced tea, it's addictive!!!!regular or diet.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:41PM
brmmrn said...
One thing I didn't see mentioned as far as sweeting your iced tea is the use of an herb called stevia, you can drop a few leaves in whole in your water when you boil it, or drop in a couple while making your sun tea. it gives the tea a sweet flavor without using sugar or artificial sweeteners, and it's all natural and won't raise blood sugars according to the research on it. =0) happy natural brewing!! enjoy (p.s. You can find stevia in the herb section in most walmarts it's provided by bonnie plant company)
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5-11-2008 @ 2:45PM
Jodi said...
I buy Lipton loose leaf tea from my favorite Asian market and make it in my drip coffee maker...makes clear, perfect tea everytime. After I have my cup of hot tea in the morning, I pour the rest in a container with a top and store in the fridge for the perfect ice tea. My daughter likes to mix the tea with lemmonaide.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:47PM
Lisa said...
If you're making Southern-style iced tea, Luzianne is the only way to go. . . .
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5-11-2008 @ 2:49PM
Anne Dwyer said...
Most bottled teas are horrible in my opinion, mostly because I can't stand sweet tea. But I have found Teas Tea, which in incredible. They have about 6 varieties, but I regularly find Green Tea, Green-Jasmine Tea and White Tea in gallon sized containers at Target. They are incredible!! If I am in a situation where I can't have brewed tea, this is my next favorite option. I even got my brother hooked on them.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:49PM
fran said...
Just wanted to add that tea, like any other food, will spoil if not kept cool with ice refrigerated, or kept out long in warm environment.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:59PM
mike said...
Gold Peak is by far the best bottled tea ever, especially the diet.
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5-11-2008 @ 2:59PM
Mike said...
Gold Peak is by far the best bottled iced tea made,even the diet.
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5-11-2008 @ 3:00PM
Anita said...
When making sun tea I like to put lemon slices in it. Gives it the perfect lemon flavor :)
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5-11-2008 @ 3:03PM
vicky said...
I don't like steeping the tea, I use 4 cup pyrex measuring cup with Sparklets water, 4 tea bags microwave 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add
sugar ( about a cup)to the hot tea. Fill a pitcher
with as much ice as it can hold,fill half way with cold water and add the tea. My quests alway comment how good the tea is.
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5-11-2008 @ 3:17PM
Janet Fonk said...
Luzianne is the ONLY tea for brewing Iced Tea, whether sweetened or unsweetened! I also add 1 bag of mint tea to the Luzianne tea bags....it's a hint of mint and a sweetener without any calories.
Also, Pour hot tea over ice rather than adding ice to the tea!! It minimizes the chance of having cloudy tea.
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5-11-2008 @ 3:46PM
scbarnard48 said...
I like to try any teas available. If I don't like them, then they leave my collection. Some times I find a tea that I really like but can't find any more.
I'm not a sweet tea drinker and I'm not overly fond of the lemon wedge. I go to a restaurant order ice tea, unsweetened, no lemon, and this glass will come to me with a lemon wedge 99% of the time. Just amazing. I'll bet on it and give odds.
I was raised on straight brewed ice tea. Secondary only to breast feeding. I thank my family.
This is a good article about ice tea but I think there is more stories and legends behind this fine drink that can be shared.
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5-11-2008 @ 3:54PM
tharlien said...
Luzianne tea (4 bags), gallon of DISTILLED water. Boil 1/4 of water with 4 bags. Put 1 C. sugar in gallon pitcher. Pour hot tea mixture (do not put bags in pitcher - squeeze out excess moisture from bags - discard bags) stir to dissolve sugar, pour remaining distilled water in pitcher and stir again. Serve over ice (we prefer CLEAR ice - from distilled water as well). The mixture of the tea made with distilled water and the ice gives you ONLY the fresh tea taste. No "city water" taste, well water taste, nothing but GREAT tea!
Works every time!!
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5-11-2008 @ 3:57PM
tharlien said...
Also, if you make unsweet tea, a slice of lime is better than lemon. It is not as bitter tasting! Try it, you will love it!!
That is a "south Texas" kind of thing.
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5-11-2008 @ 4:16PM
IleneNYC said...
Honestly- Honest Tea's best of their iced tea crop is Peach OO-LA-Long. It's like sipping strong iced tea and taking a bite of a perfect Georgia Peach at the same time---- yumm...!
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5-11-2008 @ 4:17PM
Kristin said...
I've enjoyed many glasses of sweet tea, but I'm pretty sure it is kind of health risk. Warm water can grow bacteria, whereas boiled water kills it...
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5-11-2008 @ 4:17PM
BARNYARDSALLY said...
The BEST iced tea that I ever had is MY OWN!! I lived in Florida for 6 years & found this Luzianne Tea that made the BEST ICED TEA EVER!!! I use one of those "Mr Coffee Iced Tea Makers" & everyone loves my iced tea!! Two of the Luzianne Iced Tea Bags for 3 quarts of water is perfect!!! Since moving back to NJ I have had to order Luzianne Tea online because I am "addicted" to Luzianne Tea now!!
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5-11-2008 @ 4:22PM
Leigh said...
THIS PAST YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS, I HAD TO ORDER LUZIANNE TEA TO PUT IN THE GIFT BASKETS I GAVE TO ALL MY FAMILY & FRIENDS ALONG WITH HOME-MADE COOKIES! EVERYONE WANTED TO KNOW WHERE TO GET MORE LUZIANNE TEA!!
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