Best Iced Tea Pitcher?

[John Delaney]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to get an iced tea infusion pitcher for my Mom for Mother's Day. She is new to loose leaf tea and was asking for help. I don't normally make iced tea so not sure what to look for or get. What do you folks use or would recommend? After doing a little research, I am seeing a number of tea presses and some regular infusion pitchers. I am not sure a tea press is a good idea but what are the pros and cons of each?

[futurebird]

What kind of iced tea? Southern style? Or maybe they would like to enter the world of iced sencha and white tea (I think this is a god idea)

Anyway, my grandma won an award at the regional church picnic for her iced tea back in 1981 and here is how she did it:

Get some lipton 5 bags is enough, put it in glass picture and sit it on the window sill for 2 hours in the sun (hot water not needed) next add 2 table maple syrup and 10 tablespoons of white sugar and the *strained* juice from a lemon.

let it sit and strain it trough cheese cloth again. then ice it.

DON'T TELL HER I TOLD YOU.

Oh... this was probably not what you wanted, but I do have another iced recipe I just had it the other day:

Iced sencha (I'm quite new to sencha)

Just brew the sencha at 176F as directed (2 min steep) then strain it (thanks grandma!) no need for sugar, let it cool in the fridge.

Very refreshing!

Um I guess my point is iced tea, as humble as it seems has many varieties. What do your folks like?

I think tea presses make tea bitter, but that's just me!

[John Delaney]

They are used to drinking commercial grade teabags but want to start using loose leaf tea instead. She normally makes it by boiling a number of tea bags in hot water and then pouring the contents into a pitcher that has some room temperature water in it to cool. From there, she pours the result into glasses that have ice in them.

[Maitre_Tea]

Don't boil the tea bags in water, it'll make the iced tea appear clouded.

[futurebird]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/tea-coffee-tumb ... 337b4d11b9

this seems nice for one or two people.

(500ml of iced tea)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/900ml-Kamjove-G ... 4d075cb5fb

even bigger 900ml

[teaisme]

This one is nice with heat proof glass for cold and hot brews
http://www.chinaberry.com/p/Eco-and-Eas ... MgodhXIAXQ


or

http://www.forlifedesign.com/shop/index ... kob5t8p9u0

[futurebird]

The mist one looks like the best so far IMHO

[AdamMY]

Not quite a Pitcher per say, but I have had great success brewing and serving Iced tea from a French Press. Although I would use one that has not been used for coffee just to keep your tea tasting like tea.

[futurebird]

Not quite a Pitcher per say, but I have had great success brewing and serving Iced tea from a French Press. Although I would use one that has not been used for coffee just to keep your tea tasting like tea.

What sort of tea have you had success pressing, Adam?-- I found that it made everything bitter, white tea, black tea... but that's all I ever tried. I thought it was bruising the leaves too much, but I could be wrong about this.

Then again I was not using it for iced tea... I still think either cold or sun brewing is best just because of clarity. In fact, My grandma would not stir it till she added the ice... but she' was a little odd about iced tea...

I wish she was still alive so I could give her some iced sencha she'd LOVE it!

[Chip]

There are french "presses" that do not press! The press part is stationary which solves the pressing concerns about pressing. They are actually made for brewing tea and the fixed position screen is about an inch from the top.

I purchased one as my first iced tea "pot" 13 or so years ago, but last I looked they were still available.

[AdamMY]

Not quite a Pitcher per say, but I have had great success brewing and serving Iced tea from a French Press. Although I would use one that has not been used for coffee just to keep your tea tasting like tea.

What sort of tea have you had success pressing, Adam?-- I found that it made everything bitter, white tea, black tea... but that's all I ever tried. I thought it was bruising the leaves too much, but I could be wrong about this.

Then again I was not using it for iced tea... I still think either cold or sun brewing is best just because of clarity. In fact, My grandma would not stir it till she added the ice... but she' was a little odd about iced tea...

I wish she was still alive so I could give her some iced sencha she'd LOVE it!

I've only really used two types of tea for Iced tea. They are Lipton Loose Leaf, and a Chinese Grocery Store Giant Tin of Dong Ding. I only cold brew, so I fill it up with room temperature filtered water, and then place it in the fridge. When most of the stuff settles to the bottom after 8-16 hours, I stick the plunger in, and I don't really press per say, I just push it down a bit, not really aiming to squeeze the leaves, just keep them contained.

[MEversbergII]

I plan to be using this for cold brewing:

http://www.target.com/p/anchor-bistro-g ... A-13795126

M.

[wyardley]

Hario ones work pretty well.