Four Ways to Brew Iced Tea
The heat of Summer is in full swing and the only way to enjoy your favorite tea in the afternoon is to have it iced cold. After a long hot day, one of life’s little pleasures is to sit back and casually enjoy a tall glass of tea filled with ice to the top while the condensation drips down the outside and over your fingertips as the sun sets and the day melts away. Sounds just about perfect doesn’t it? Well then, how do we make this perfect glass of iced goodness? Is it complicated? Difficult? Tricky? No, no and no! But there are many different ways to make a glass of iced tea and choosing the right method depends mostly on how much time you have and what it is you want your final result to be. Here are our suggestions on ways to brew iced tea with a few pro tips thrown in for fun.
1. Standard Brewing Method for Iced Tea:
The standard method for brewing iced tea is really the same method for brewing hot tea, you just need an additional couple of hours to allow it to cool. While you want to follow each tea’s suggested brewing instructions, the general rule of thumb is to brew a level teaspoon per 6oz of hot, filtered water. Steep for it’s allotted time, typically 3-5 minutes and then remove your brew basket or remove the tea leaves with a strainer. If brewing with a tea bag or sachet you would use the same amount of water and brewing time as loose leaf. Completely chill and then enjoy over ice.
While you might not want to go through this process every day to brew iced tea, our suggestion is to brew a 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon at a time with the standard method and then keep it in the refrigerator to have available at all times. Here’s our recipe for brewing a 1 gallon batch and if you want to only brew a 1/2 gallon then simply cut all measurements in half. The first step is to bring a 1/2 gallon of water to the proper temperature for the tea you are brewing in a large pot. The general standards are boiling water for black and herbal teas, 190-200 degrees for oolong teas, 170-180 degrees for green teas and 160-170 degrees for white teas. Second, add 1 to 1.25 ounces of tea and brew for it’s suggested time, again, typically 3-5 minutes. For larger batches I like to push the time as far as you can before it starts bittering to get a nice, robust cup of tea. Remember, it will dilute some as it sits over ice. Agitate the tea leaves every minute or so. Once it’s finished brewing, strain the tea in a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth and then add an additional ½ gallon of water to complete the brew. Chill and enjoy throughout the week.
*Pro tip- If you want your tea sweetened, add it while the tea is still hot. Whether you like sugar, honey, agave or stevia, adding it to hot tea will allow for it to properly dissolve and mix thoroughly.
2. Quick Brew Iced Tea:
If you find yourself in the moment craving iced tea and you just can’t wait for it to cool on it’s own, you can brew a pot and pour it directly over ice once it’s finished. The catch here is that pouring hot tea over ice could dilute your batch to the point that it’s a weak, watery mess. To prevent this from happening simply double the amount of tea and brew for it’s suggested time and temperature.
*Pro tip- With herbal and black teas you typically won’t need to worry about bittering with the additional tea; flavored teas as well. Green and more delicate teas could bitter with the additional leaves and we would suggest experimenting with smaller increments to perfect this quick method.
3. Cold Brew Iced Tea:
You have probably heard that cold brew coffee is all the rage now (rightfully so, it’s delicious with it’s silky smooth finish without a hint of bitterness). That being said, cold brew iced tea is well on it way to being just as popular and for many of the same reasons. When tea is brewed in hot water it releases tannins which can make the tea bitter and sometimes produce cloudiness. Cold brewing doesn’t release tannins and you finish with a smooth and sweeter cup of iced tea without any hints of acidity or bitterness. This is our favorite method of brewing iced tea and it’s very simple, the only catch is you need 12 to 24 hours before you can enjoy this glass of love.
We suggest brewing a gallon batch since this method requires time and if you have more than a couple of people in the house it will be gone before you know it. Simply put a gallon of filtered water in a pitcher or container, add 1.25 to 1.5 ounces of tea (this method requires a little more tea than traditional brewing) and steep for 12 to 24 hours and then strain and enjoy. There is a lot of flexibility with a cold brew and you can achieve great results in 6 hours but we prefer a longer steep. Voila!, there you have it.
*Pro-tip- Steer clear of sun-tea. While this was incredibly popular in the 70’s and 80’s, it is now generally discouraged by scientists and doctors. Brewing tea for an extended period of time with your water at a warm temperature can be a breeding ground for bacteria.
4. Fruit Infused Iced Tea:
Now this is where you really get to have fun and be creative, fruit infused iced tea. Take your favorite tea to the next level by adding a combination of fruits, herbs and whole spices to transform your tea into something magical. You can start with a simple black or green tea and make your own flavored blend, choose a flavored tea and compliment it with like items to punch up it’s existing flavor profile or you can go wild and add items with contrasting or augmenting flavors to transform it all together. For a cold brew, fruit infused tea it’s as simple as adding the fruits, herbs and spices at the start of your process and letting them mingle with the tea. When you strain your tea the fruit will come along with it and you can either give them a quick rinse and add them back to the finished tea or cut new fruit and add it back in. You can infuse a hot brew as well, though you want to brew your tea first and then add your fruit and other items to the hot liquor after you have stained the tea. With either method you can smash or muddle your additions for maximum flavor.
Here are suggested infusion combinations-
Mango and Rosemary- sweet and herbaceous
Orange, Cinnamon and Star Anise- inspired by our Boulder Tangerine
Strawberry and Basil- a classic
Lemon and Ginger- another tried and true combo
Rose, Thyme and Watermelon- delicate yet complex
Some of our favorites teas to drink iced:
-Black Tea- Boulder Breakfast Blend or Sessa Estate Assam
-Green Tea- Mystic Mountain or Dragonwell
-Flavored Teas- Cherry Rose Sencha Green, Strawberry Kiwi Black, Lavender Lemonade Green or Huckleberry Lime Black
-Herbal Teas- Boulder Tangerine, Raspberry Lemonade or Rocky Mountain Mint (it’s deceptively delicious iced)
-White Teas- Colorado White Peach or White Darjeeling Spring Bai Mu Dan
-Oolong Teas- Peach Oolong, Jasmine Oolong or Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong