Good tea for iced tea?

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Jun 10th, '10, 12:45
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Good tea for iced tea?

by Crafty_Mom » Jun 10th, '10, 12:45

I've been more serious about drinking tea for about a year now. My husband and I both drink hot tea, but he also drinks iced tea by the gallon. Now, the iced tea we get is still the grocery store iced tea bags. He is now finally considering getting something better to make iced tea with.

Any suggestions on what tea makes a good iced tea? And any suggestions on teaware to make it?

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Jun 10th, '10, 17:34
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by teaisme » Jun 10th, '10, 17:34

I don't really drink iced tea anymore, but used to.
I found that taiwanese balled oolongs brewed strong are very good iced. houjicha and genmaicha brewed strong I also enjoy very much.

I used to just brew hot in a pot then pour over ice, never had any problems with that.

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Jun 11th, '10, 23:23
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by Dresden » Jun 11th, '10, 23:23

As far as classic black tea is concerned my staple iced tea is always ceylon.

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Jun 12th, '10, 03:05
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by aya_s » Jun 12th, '10, 03:05

I too brew good black tea hot and then let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it. Korean grocery stores carry very thick-walled glass pitchers, which I find perfect for brewing hot liquids.

For a different flavor, I really like cold brewing Japanese green teas. I put in a slightly larger amount of leaves, then add cold water and leave in the 'fridge overnight. It is grassy and slightly sweet and very smooth.

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Jun 15th, '10, 10:00
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by Crafty_Mom » Jun 15th, '10, 10:00

Thanks for the input, everyone! Very helpful.

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Jun 15th, '10, 14:54
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by TubbyCow » Jun 15th, '10, 14:54

Dresden wrote:My staple iced tea is always ceylon.
+1 Similar flavours to the iced tea most of us North Americans are used to, only you can control the amount of sugar that goes in and it's much higher quality.

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Jun 15th, '10, 15:03
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by Chip » Jun 15th, '10, 15:03

+2 on the Celon for black IT. I will often use it as a base and add high mountain Indian region like Nepal, Darjeeling. Natually fruity ...

Cold brewing sencha is really good, and I usually use ones I did not like hot. Cold brewing is not only forgiving but augmenting. I will often throw in some gyo that is crappy hot. Yummm. Really refreshing. The down side is it oxidizes very quickly, but adding just a tiny bit of honey acts as a natural preservative.

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Jun 15th, '10, 16:13
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by nickE » Jun 15th, '10, 16:13

I cold brew Assams and Ceylons all the time, love 'em. :D

Jun 15th, '10, 21:46
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by dianhong » Jun 15th, '10, 21:46

Black tea is good of course, but a great iced tea is very strong shu pu'er. The cheapest kind you can get is ideal (you can get loose-leaf pu'er at Chinese supermarkets for like $4/lb).

To brew it, I put 1 heaped teaspoon per cup of water into a saucepan full of boiling water. I turn the heat off, put a cover on it, and leave it there for an hour or two. By the time it cools to room temperature, it's as black as ink but only slightly bitter. I strain it into a glass bottle and put it in the fridge. Delicious with sugar or plain.

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Jun 15th, '10, 22:03
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by TIM » Jun 15th, '10, 22:03

Crushed White Peony, flush rinse with boiling water, drain, add warm water and wait for 30 mins, then in the fridge for overnight. You can do it with Dancong oolong also, but much less leaves. 8)

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Jun 18th, '10, 15:28
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by cindyt » Jun 18th, '10, 15:28

Cold brewing is what I do all summer (using the same method as aya_s mentioned above). I've tried it on different kinds of oolong and darjeeling and have always gotten good results.

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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by TwoPynts » Jul 16th, '10, 10:30

Barely tea (mugicha). Very refreshing.

I flash seep the oversized tea bags I have by Maeda in hot water for a few minutes then fill up a container with cold and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before drinking.

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Jul 26th, '10, 06:16
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by reincarnate » Jul 26th, '10, 06:16

I usually use different teas all the time. Often when I have a box of tea bags that I want to 'get rid of' I use them for iced tea. But green flavored teas (sencha) can turn out really good, e.g. peach and vanilla, guarana, orange.

I put two tea bags (of the equivalent of loose leaf) into my regular cup, leave it in hot water for 10-15 min. Then i add honey and some drops of lemon juice. I mix it all, pour it into a pitcher and fill the rest with mineral water. Put it in the fridge to cool it.

Of course homemade iced tea will never taste like the commercial bottled teas, but I find that it's a matter of getting used to the flavor.

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Jul 26th, '10, 10:11
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by nonc_ron » Jul 26th, '10, 10:11

dianhong wrote:Black tea is good of course, but a great iced tea is very strong shu pu'er. The cheapest kind you can get is ideal (you can get loose-leaf pu'er at Chinese supermarkets for like $4/lb).

To brew it, I put 1 heaped teaspoon per cup of water into a saucepan full of boiling water. I turn the heat off, put a cover on it, and leave it there for an hour or two. By the time it cools to room temperature, it's as black as ink but only slightly bitter. I strain it into a glass bottle and put it in the fridge. Delicious with sugar or plain.
Image
Hi dianhong, I see this is your first post.
Welcome, looking forward to more posts.
It's 105* today, Any iced tea would taste good. 8)
Last edited by nonc_ron on Jul 27th, '10, 11:04, edited 1 time in total.

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Jul 26th, '10, 22:14
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Re: Good tea for iced tea?

by entropyembrace » Jul 26th, '10, 22:14

Baozhong makes great iced tea...I brew it hot and strong, pour into my glass and wait for it to cool to room temp then add the ice :)

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