Iced tea is America's contribution to world tea culture.
Because making iced tea is so easy, why not do it right?
Already by the 19th century iced tea recipes began to appear in cookbooks. But iced tea
really took off in popularity when the tea merchant Richard Blechynden,
unable to sell tea during a heat wave at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase
Exposition in St. Louis, decided to serve his tea over ice. It was a hit with
visitors, and summer's haven't been the same since.
Today, iced tea is the most popular tea in America.
Forget about instant iced tea from a jar; it's too
sweet and lacks real tea flavor. Great iced tea can
be made with any black tea as well as flavored teas, such as
Peach Black Tea,
Lemon Green Tea,
or even
Oolong
or
Japanese Sencha.
If you like it sweet, try using superfine baking or bartender's sugar
(you can also make your own in a food processor). You can also mix up a
sugar syrup on the stove with a 1:1 ration of sugar to water, simmer for a
few minutes, cool, and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. If you allow
tea to cool down naturally before refrigerating, it won't cloud or "cream
down."
Cold Steeping
In this method, place 2 tsp per cup of loose tea in
a large tea ball or
paper tea filter, place in a pitcher and fill
with
cold water. An 8 cup pitcher needs close to 16 tsp
of loose tea. Let the infusion stand in the refrigerator overnight or for at
least four hours. This is similar to sun tea, which also works, but experts fear
that bacterial growth occurs in sun tea.
Hot Steeping
Method 1: Pour strong, hot tea over double
the amount of ice to get a regular strength iced
tea. Steep 2 tsp of loose tea in 8 oz of hot water
for 3 minutes (1 min. for green tea), pour over 16
oz glass packed with ice. The rapid cooling gives you crystal clear
iced tea.
Method 2: Some recipes call for doubling the
amount of
tea leaf, steeping for 3-5 minutes, and then
pouring into a container with an equal amount of
cold water (1/2 strong hot tea and 1/2 cold water). This dilutes the strong tea and chills
it quickly.
Fruit Iced Tea Strong tea concentrates are especially great when mixed in a 1:1 ratio with
lemonade or other fruit juices. Just be sure the juice doesn't overpower
the tea flavor. If you shake this mix with some sugar in a cocktail shaker or
in a blender, the aerated drink is wonderfully fresh and light tasting.
Recommended Iced Tea Blends:
Tropical Black Tea
(passionfruit, mango, peaches and black tea),
Pomegranate Green |
