The Perfect Ice Tea
Iced tea is one of those thirst quenching flavors that just makes the summer heat seem worth while.
Iced Tea
It has all of the caffeine of a coke, but with none of the artificial bubbly crap that feeds nameless corporations and their ilk.
Iced Tea is natural, honest, and infinitely cheap.
- 6 to 8 tea bags or 3 Family size
- 1 1/2 quart hot water (4 cups)
- 1 1/2 quart cold filtered water and ice (4 cups)
- 1/4 cup sugar, optional
Get out a 2-quart size sauce pan.
Put the hot water in it and bring it to a boil.
Add the tea bags.
Remove the pan from the heat, and allow it to steep for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 20 minutes.
If the tea sits for too long, it will extract bitter elements from the tea leaves, making the finished product taste horrible. If it doesn’t sit long enough, it won’t be strong enough to give you the caffeine jolt which iced tea was designed for.
When the time is up, remove the tea bags and toss them into the garbage, they have served their purpose. Put the cold water into a 2-quart size pitcher.
Filter through a Brita or some other water filter.
Pour the hot tea into the pitcher, over top of the cold water. You put the cold water in first, because the hot tea could melt the pitcher, seeing as it is so hot. The cold water acts as a buffer, and cools the tea.
Add sugar or honey if you like, stirring to dissolve it completely.
Put the pitcher into the fridge to cool. Or it can be poured directly into an ice filled cup.
I like iced tea strong, so I use 8 tea bags. I buy the boxes of family size tea bags, usually a store brand, for about $1 to $2 a box of 24. This makes 3 quarts of tea at a cost of 24¢!
I don’t add sugar to mine, preferring it unsweetened with a slice of lemon. But that is a personal choice, and lots of folks like it with added sugar.
