Quality iced tea (i.e. iced tea made from quality loose leaf tea) can be confusing because it's made in different ways by different people. I've been reviewing teas for several months now, and even I haven't been sure of the best way to make iced tea until very recently, when I finally decided (through necessity of the hot weather) to try it on my own.The first thing you should know is that you should not make sun tea. This is a long-used method of throwing the tea in a pitch of water and then letting that pitcher of water sit out in the sun... at exactly the perfect temperature to breed bacteria and potentially make you sick.
Yes, your grandmother's made it since you were a kid or your mother says it's fine, but trust me. Sun tea is a bad idea, and even if it weren't, there is very popular method of making iced tea that eliminates any need to leave your tea in a jar out in your yard all day.The most popular method of making iced tea these days is flash chilled ice tea, which is pretty simple and pretty quick:
1. Make your desired tea exactly as you would always make, except double the quantity of tea leaves.
2. Pour into a pitcher or glass of ice, and voila!
I never have room for ice in my freezer, so I make the desired quantity of double-strength tea, pour it in a pitcher, and add cool/cold water to dilute the tea in the same manner the ice would, and stick it in the fridge. You can handle it in whatever way is the most convenient for you, but there is one very snazzy option that has appeared on the scene recently.
Tea-Over-Ice is an innovative new product from Tea Forte that makes quality iced tea simple and beautiful at the same time. With two perfectly sized pitchers than fit together, you can use hot water and one of Tea Forte's perfectly sized tea bags in the top pitcher and then pour the tea into the pitcher of ice beneath when the steeping time is over. This setup is certainly not necessary to make iced tea, but it's an impressive way to make iced tea when you're entertaining guests, and I'm already secretly coveting one to add to my teaware collection.
How do you make your iced tea? What teaware, tea, and steps do you use? Leave your answers in the comments!
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