The Iced Tea Topic

[Wholemeal Crank]

Hadn't really thought of using my pineapple sage leaves for tea.....but it's a great flavor and now seems so obviously perfect for pairing with a light green or white tea. Will try it shortly.

[Richard Kilgore]

There is some satisfaction in creating your own iced tea blend, isn't there. I'll try re-creating some variations from the past and post about it in a few days.

[heidih]

Jasmine tea - inexpensive $2 tin of loose leaf - made a lovely pitcher of fragrant light tea

[Will]

I mostly drink my tea hot, but when I do drink iced tea, I drink it unsweetened and unblended. I do find that cold-brewing gives interesting results with some teas - especially with a lower quality tea, it can minimize bitterness / astringency and bring out the tea's positive quality. It does make me a bit nervous to drink tea that hasn't been rinsed, though.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Today I prepared two teas cold-brewed: some of a Da Yu Ling described by Dragon Tea House as especially good for cold brewing. My first experience with it was as a hot tea, and it was a fine, tasty oolong, very reminiscent of the various Alishans I've been getting from Norbu. Cold (room temp) brewed, it was astonishingly sweet, so sweet that after a couple of sips I diluted the cup a bit with some fresh water and found it an improvement. Still, quite delicious, and now that it seems like hot weather is finally settling in for the summer, I'm going to keep this one reserved for cold brewing.

I also used some Yong De white buds from Norbu for a cold-brewed cup, and it was floral/camphorous/sweet/fruity, with a bit of added chrysanthemum blossom.

Really the only problem with these cold-brewed teas was that I didn't brew enough to handle my thirst after a long nap during the heat of the day. So for tomorrow, I'm prepping a larger volume with the Da Yu Ling. There's also some rather ordinary sencha that might be just right for this.

Has anyone ever tried sencha + osmanthus, or cold-brewed osmanthus flowers?

[Mjx]

I really enjoy chilled mugicha; its slight smokiness really hits the spot. I'd add two coffee scoops (I never weighed it, and at the moment have none to weigh) to a litre of boiling water, take it off the heat, and let it steep until it's room temperature, then strain and chill.

[heidih]

As usual the peaches all ripened at once or were attacked en masse by birds and Scarab beetles so I had to pick the lot. I am enjoying a delightful mix of 3 bags white tea (inexpensive organic I picked up) and 1 bag Bigelow herbal peach in a pitcher with about 4 medium size peaches in big chunks. It is getting hot and the lightness and mild but distinct peachiness is "just peachy"

[mkayahara]

In response to the clarity issues I am posting a picture of the tea I just made. It is a cup of tap water heated in the microwave for a minute and a half. Tossed in 4 bags of Tieh Kuan Yin (a light fragrant tea) and some pineapple sage leaves. Steeped for 5 minutes. Poured into pitcher and topped off with tap water. It will not get cloudy after refrigeration. Perhaps the low temp of the steeping water is the crucial factor.

Can I get a mineral analysis on your tap water?

I always need to use bottled water to make tea; my tap water is so hard that tea instantly reacts with it and turns cloudy. (And makes my mugs impossible to clean.) I finally achieved crystal-clear iced oolong yesterday, by making the tea with 200F-degree water (in a preheated teapot), steeping for 4 minutes, then straining and allowing to come to room temperature before chilling.

I also noticed that McGee suggests cold infusion in order to make the tea clear, so that'll be the next thing I try.

[heidih]

Can I get a mineral analysis on your tap water?

I think it is in part due to my small amount of hot water being below a boil and then adding probably 6 times as much cold water to the steeped mixture. I can drink my trap water without grimacing so perhaps it is not too mineral rich.

[oneidaone]

Mostly I steep it in an acrylic pitcher with water from my fridge line. Usually Celestial Seasons of some type, generally the fruit varieties. I slice lots of fruit in it to make it

look pretty as I always have 2 pitchers at every party I host for the designated driver's and those who just like iced tea! It's always a hit.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Another amazing infusion of the "cold brew Da Yu Ling" from Dragon Tea House. They aren't kidding when they recommend this stuff for cold brewing. It's definitely the most interesting of the teas I ordered with my teeny-tiny teapot.

[heidih]

I experimented with iced jasmine tea poured over a pitcher containing about 4 sliced ripe white nectarines. It looked pretty but the tea overwhelmed the subtle fruit. The nectarines are ripening rapidly so I will try it next time with a white tea.

[DjLau]

I make fruit iced tea often by muddling the fruit to release the flavors, like when making a Mojito.

My favorite so far this summer is California peaches with Darjeeling tea.

[Snadra]

I've been making a fair bit office tea the last few weeks as things hot up. I like lemon in my ice tea and sometimes use my mother's trick of squeezing a lemon into the jug, then throwing in the lemon halves before pop urging over the hot tea, sugaring to taste. It is always cloudy this way, but very good. Her tea choice was always twinnings earl grey loose leaf.

Lady Grey (bags) makes a fragrant ice tea - I use ~10 bags to 2L of boiling water. My current favourite is a combo of Jasmine and Earl Grey (loose leaf) in a 1:3 ratio. Leaves topped with hot water in teapot, steep for 5-6 minutes. My teapot has an infuser so I don't bother with straining. I find 1/3 cup of sugar is perfect for 2L of tea. It doesn't really need lemon as the fragrance of the two teas combines really well.

I'm thinking of using the blackberries is picked up yesterday to infuse a tea - black oolong + blackberries?

[heidih]

I came into some dead ripe intensely fragrant guavas recently - the ones with the yellow/orange peel and the pink/orange flesh. I scooped out the flesh and froze it flat in ziplock bags. Recent pitchers have been some of that guava flesh and a mix of black tea and a peach flavored tea. The fruitiness was just enough to detect and please. Happy to have more of the guava in the freezer.

[heidih]

It is getting warm here in Los Angeles. I am kicking off this year's discussion with black tea, Valencia orange and fresh ginger slices. Show us your pitchers and describe your brews as we enter summer in the Northern Hemi.

[Jason Perlow]

There's a ton of fresh mint growing in our backyard. I intend to harvest it soon and make an herbal tea out of it. We do it every summer, tastes great over ice, mixed with black tea or just by itself.

[Katie Meadow]

I take a few lavender buds and make a lavender simple syrup which can be easily kept in the frig. I add a splash to iced black tea or to lemonade.

[Justin Pinkney]

I'm continuously hoping that the UK will give me good enough weather to warrant ice tea, not much luck so far though.

[Chris Hennes]

There's a ton of fresh mint growing in our backyard. I intend to harvest it soon and make an herbal tea out of it. We do it every summer, tastes great over ice, mixed with black tea or just by itself.

What's your strategy for this? Just mint and hot water?

[Jason Perlow]

There's a ton of fresh mint growing in our backyard. I intend to harvest it soon and make an herbal tea out of it. We do it every summer, tastes great over ice, mixed with black tea or just by itself.

What's your strategy for this? Just mint and hot water?

Just mint and hot water, yes. And any sweetener you want to add, along with black tea, if you want regular tea in it. Brew it up in a pot, pour it into a container to cool down, put it in the fridge when it reaches room temp.

[heidih]

I do pretty much the same with mint and with the pineapple sage (attached image). The latter makes a really soft floral brew. For a pitcher I put a few fistfuls in a bowl just to hold the foliage, pour over hot water to infuse for about 10 minutes, pour into pitcher and top off with cold water.

[Jason Perlow]

Just made up a fresh batch of mint iced tea. Just mint, hot water, and some stevia packets added to sweetness. Amazing over ice, especially on a blisteringly hot day like this in the NY metro area. Hit 99 today.

[Jason Perlow]

I do pretty much the same with mint and with the pineapple sage (attached image). The latter makes a really soft floral brew. For a pitcher I put a few fistfuls in a bowl just to hold the foliage, pour over hot water to infuse for about 10 minutes, pour into pitcher and top off with cold water.

What do you do with pineapple sage besides make a tissane with it? Does it have other culinary uses?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

What do you do with pineapple sage besides make a tissane with it? Does it have other culinary uses?

OMG, yes, as a flavouring on pineapple-stuffed drunken chicken!