The Iced Tea Topic

[MsMelkor]

I know that sun tea is basically Disneyland for bacteria, but I like to live on the edge. Some people skydive, I make sun tea.

[plantdetective]

my wife makes great iced tea. the key is use Cain's Tea Bags. This is a regional tea out of Oklahoma. Unfortunately they have a very small distribution area. Can't get it now that we live is south south texas. Have to have family bring and pick some up when we are in OK visiting.

With this tea you can brew on the stove for hours and it still tastes great. No bitter.

We also use granulated fructose... Fructose has a lower glycemic index than sugar or honey. This means that there is less blood sugar reaction... doesnt' make you as hungry later when the blood sugar comes down. Fructose is also sweeter so you use less... less calories. Every little bit helps the waist line. One other advantage... it will dissolve in cold water. Great advantage over table sugar. Some people have a bad reaction if they eat too much fructose. We have never had a problem.

Plantdetective

[EHPete]

If your tea is bitter, you are probably using too little tea, letting it steep too long, or both. Much like coffee, what people perceive as "too strong" is actually caused by too little of whatever you are extracting from.

[Human Bean]

Another summer, another iced tea season. I've spent the past week at home, on vacation (more-or-less), and iced tea has helped with the summer heat and keeping my nervous system humming.

Along with the basic cheap Darjeeling + cheap oolong + cheap green iced tea described above, I've done a few more experiments.

My current (lazy) mix is 3 parts Darjeeling, 1 part oolong. Tastes okay, not quite as fussy as Darjeeling+oolong+green as described earlier.

Jasmine iced tea: 100% jasmine tea. As brewed, was way too reminiscent of cat urine, dunno why. After a half-hour or so, either it changed, or my tastebuds changed, and was okay. I'm leery of this one; I'll probably try it again, but it wasn't an instant hit.

Lichee iced tea: 100% lichee tea. A winner - good tea flavor, lichee present but not overpowering. I always drink my tea unsweetened, but this would certainly do well with some sweetening. Lichee tea may be hard to find, but is good hot or iced.

Losers: CTC (pelletized) teas. Lipton Yellow Label and Brooke Bond - Assam dust bonded into little granules. Tastes okay, but hopelessly cloudy tea. Not great tea on it's own, might be okay in an iced tea blend if you don't mind the cloudiness.

BTW, I use "The Iced Tea Pot " by Mr. Coffee® (that's what they call it, and I don't want highly caffeinated lawyers coming after me ) to make iced tea. Normally I don't like single-use appliances, but it works well, I've had it for several years, and it doesn't add too much heat indoors when I'm trying to keep the place cool. Although it takes up valuable storage space when not in use, it's not a big burden. Recommended if you desire an appliance for minimal-effort iced-tea making.

[suzilightning]

with the horrible heat and humidity i have had a pot of tea going everyday for iced tea. double strength made with decaf and decaf green. then i mix it 2/3 tea, 1/3 lemonade.

i also just today made a mix of 4 cups water, 1 cup sugar and 4 stalks of lemongrass cut and crushed. brought it all up to a boil, steeped for 3 hours and strained. just mixed 1/2 cup of this with some ice and the tea. not bad at all.

am thinking of using the infusion with some sparkling water or champagne.

[tafkap4d]

Ice tea! Yum! Any kind with the exception of Earl Grey - that bergamot is just way too overwhelming and has a hair grease reminder (long story...as bergamot is used in hair "grease"). As long as it is ultra sweet (a simple sugar syrup preferably), iced with lemon and/or mint. I am in heaven.

I keep a pitcher of ice tea at all times. I have purchased teas from adiago tea online and from a tea shoppe here in Atlanta and NY with great success.

Edited September 7, 2005 by tafkap4d (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

For the past several months I have been experimenting with several Mariage Frères teas from The Cultured Cup. I have enjoyed Eros, as well as a combination of their Fruites Noirs and Fruits Rouges, with a ratio tipping slightly toward the latter.

Hibiscus also makes a traditional Mexican iced tea that is delicious and decafe, of course. Hibiscus also mixes well with the Mariage Frères Fruites Noir, providing a little natural sweetness.

[prasantrin]

For the past several months I have been experimenting with several Mariage Frères teas from  The Cultured Cup. I have enjoyed Eros, as well as a combination of their Fruites Noirs and Fruits Rouges, with a ratio tipping slightly toward the latter.

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I think Bolero makes the nicest iced tea, if you haven't yet tried it. Marco Polo is supposed to be the tea for making iced tea, but I find the lightness of the Bolero to be more refreshing on hot summer days.

[nakji]

I'm making jugs of iced tea every day now to beat the heat. I alternate between generic supermarket Oolong and generic supermarket green tea. Occasionally I'll make a jug of iced jasmine tea, which I find exceptionally refreshing. I don't sweeten.

I can't decide the best method for brewing, though. I've experimented with brewing hot, then stowing it in the fridge until it cools, but this brings up the temperature of my fridge, since I only have a tiny bar fridge, and it takes forever to chill - and I worry about food safety. I've also just thrown a bag into a jug of cold water and left it over night in the fridge - but the brew is predictably weaker. But it doesn't melt and refreeze all my ice.

What's the fastest and safest way for me to make iced tea?

[melamed]

I'm making jugs of iced tea every day now to beat the heat. I alternate between generic supermarket Oolong and generic supermarket green tea. Occasionally I'll make a jug of iced jasmine tea, which I find exceptionally refreshing. I don't sweeten.

I can't decide the best method for brewing, though. I've experimented with brewing hot, then stowing it in the fridge until it cools, but this brings up the temperature of my fridge, since I only have a tiny bar fridge, and it takes forever to chill - and I worry about food safety. I've also just thrown a bag into a jug of cold water and left it over night in the fridge - but the brew is predictably weaker. But it doesn't melt and refreeze all my ice.

What's the fastest and safest way for me to make iced tea?

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What I would do is brew a super concentrated tea using boiling water to release the full flavor and then dilute it with cold water as needed. This is how my grandmother makes her tea, first making a concentrate and then adding water, either hot or cold.

[nakji]

What kind of ratio do you think is appropriate? How many tea bags/ grams of tea to how much water? It would be much easier and faster to cool a small amount of supertea; I like this idea.

[heidih]

What kind of ratio do you think is appropriate? How many tea bags/ grams of tea to how much water? It would be much easier and faster to cool a small amount of supertea; I like this idea.

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My friends and I are all iced tea fanatics. We do the concentrate method as well- generally 4 bags to a cup of hot water with a black tea, 6 with a lighter tea. I then dilute when cool with only another cup since I use lots of crushed ice when I pour it. You have to experiment a bit.

[willows]

nakji: second heidih. I make quadruple-strength tea with hot water, dilute it to double-strength with cool water and refrigerate it, and then serve with ice and simply syrup to sweeten, or if there's no ice just watered down 1:1.

Lately I've been drinking (unsweetened) iced tea mixed with ginger ale for a little bit of bite and sparkle. It's very refreshing.

[eje]

I am sooooo sick of restaurants making their ice tea with flavored tea or herbal infusions. Ice tea is not complicated and I do not want a mouth full of fruit ir flowers.

When I order a glass of Ice Tea, I would like a nice, quality, black tea poured over ice. Period.

[joiei]

I am sooooo sick of restaurants making their ice tea with flavored tea or herbal infusions.  Ice tea is not complicated and I do not want a mouth full of fruit ir flowers.

When I order a glass of Ice Tea, I would like a nice, quality, black tea poured over ice.  Period.

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I agree with this statement. If a restaurant insists on using fruity tea, they need to warn the guest before serving the guest. I have sent the tea back and finished the meal with water.

[nakji]

My friends and I are all iced tea fanatics. We do the concentrate method as well- generally 4 bags to a cup of hot water with a black tea, 6 with a lighter tea. I then dilute when cool with only another cup since I use lots of crushed ice when I pour it. You have to experiment a bit.

Well, this worked a treat. I used three teabags to a cup, then diluted it with a litre of cold water. Perfect for me, since I don't use ice.

When I order a glass of Ice Tea, I would like a nice, quality, black tea poured over ice. Period.

Herbal teas should be marked as such. Iced tea should be a guarantee of a certain product.

[Richard Kilgore]

I am sooooo sick of restaurants making their ice tea with flavored tea or herbal infusions.  Ice tea is not complicated and I do not want a mouth full of fruit ir flowers.

When I order a glass of Ice Tea, I would like a nice, quality, black tea poured over ice.  Period.

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I agree with this statement. If a restaurant insists on using fruity tea, they need to warn the guest before serving the guest. I have sent the tea back and finished the meal with water.

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Well, I agreed with this most of my life, eje. I still dislike traditional sweet tea and prefer unsweetened black tea to it by far. But I have also had many subtly flavored versions of iced tea during the annual Iced Tea Contest in Dallas sponsored by The Cultured Cup, and I have to admit that many are good and some are terrific. As with many tea topics, this is yet one more example of YMMV. Even MMMV.

And yes, I agree, joiei, a restaurant should tell you what kind of tea they are offering. And even at that, I have been served - and sent back - a truly awful attempt at a flavored black iced tea, and I knew it was going to be flavored. I just could not drink it.

[howsmatt]

What are some of the better (and inexpensive!) choices to brew iced tea at my soon to be restaurant? Basically I want to have 2 kinds offered each day and I would be happy with a maximum of 5 days rotation worth. I would be happy with generic products I can get in a super market or a store in Montreal that you know of. Otherwise I can order online provided it can be delivered to Canada with minimal expense.

Thanks

[Richard Kilgore]

Perhaps we may be able to be of more help with teas for iced tea if you can tell us a little more about the type of restaurant you are developing.

[jpr54_]

www.palaisdesthes.com --there r several shops which carry these teas in pq including www.holtrenfrew.com

camellia-sinensis.com has the best tea in pq

their teashop in montreal is beautiful and owners help customers

joanne aka jpr54_

[howsmatt]

I will check that out, thanks.

The restaurant will be sandwich/salad type with a focus on comfort food with a slight twist. Examples of the menu: Roast beef sandwich with beet-lentil puree and horseradish dip, House smoked turkey with cranberry jelly and green peppercorn sauce, Root beer float, smores, butterscotch popcorn.

The tea will be served in mason jars with a flavoured syrup on the side. I want lots of flavour but it doesn't need to be fancy or overpriced to look "in" or cool.

[Richard Kilgore]

Have you thought about what flavors you are looking for in the teas? Is it one plain tea and a different flavored tea each day? Or two flavored teas each day?

[KatieLoeb]

We serve Shangri-La iced tea at my current place of employ as well as several other restaurants where I've worked. Easy to brew, they lease the machines to you, show you how to use/maintain them and the teas are tasty and cost effective.

[Kerry Beal]

What are some of the better (and inexpensive!) choices to brew iced tea at my soon to be restaurant?  Basically I want to have 2 kinds offered each day and I would be happy with a maximum of 5 days rotation worth.  I would be happy with generic products I can get in a super market or a store in Montreal that you know of.  Otherwise I can order online provided it can be delivered to Canada with minimal expense.

Thanks

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You might want to contact Metropolitan Tea - they are a Canadian tea supplier and will send you out samples of teas to try.

[howsmatt]

I think both will be "plain" because I'm happy to add my own flavours with whatever is interesting at the market.

I'm thinking one strong-dark-smoked etc. type tea and one with no caffeine, that way people have that option.