A question.
Because I live in the south, not many people will enjoy a good cup of Hot Tea as I would. (Yet those same people would drink coffee any time of day and think nothing of it... go figure) What my question is, how do I make Iced Tea with some of these fine loose teas that should be arriving any day now?
I did see the Iced Tea IngenuiTea, but to be honest, 32oz is kinda small for Iced tea. I need a good way of making a whole pitcher (2qt or heck even a 1gal jug) of tea in a reasonable amount of time.
The only solution that I find is to make it on the stove in a pot then drain using a strainer for the loose bits. I *could* use the ingenuiTea to brew, but when would I add the sugar? Traditionally, I'd add it to the pot, so that it could dissolve in. I wouldn't want to add it to the ingenuiTea, because I don't see a good way to mix the solution.
Ideas?
Jan 26th, '06, 13:24
Posts: 402
Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
Contact:
jogrebe
When I make ice tea I always add the sugar (splenda in my case) in after adding the ice and stir it up to melt everything and have ready to serve ice tea. Or at least that is how I do it, I have a friend that always puts the sugar in the brew basket of the coffeemaker whenever making coffee so I guess if it works just do whatever you prefer.
John Grebe
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis
JoG's right..... sugar after.
Iced tea made from real leaves tastes great. And is very easy to make. Simply double the amount of tea leaves (making it two teaspoons per cup of water), and steep as usual (five minutes in most cases). Once tea is ready, dilute with an equal amount of cold water or ice... that should make about 64 oz.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Adagio Maestro
Iced tea made from real leaves tastes great. And is very easy to make. Simply double the amount of tea leaves (making it two teaspoons per cup of water), and steep as usual (five minutes in most cases). Once tea is ready, dilute with an equal amount of cold water or ice... that should make about 64 oz.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Adagio Maestro
I like to add the sugar to the concentrated tea after its done steeping and is still nice and warm, it disolves a lot easier that way. If I am not going to drink it right away then I let the tea concentrate cool to room temperature and then add cool water, if I want to drink it right away I will add ice to it instead of the cool water. The reason for letting it cool is that iced tea can become cloudy if shocked, but I have had good success using ice and drinking it right away. Also, in my experience I have noticed that inferiour tea (grocery store tea bags and such) will turn cloudy a lot easier than good tea.
-John
-John
ice ice maybe
One can have a lot of fun in trying to come up with their preferred method of brewing tea intended for cold consumption. There really ought not be any hard and fast rules, just guides and suggestions based on personal empirical experience, culinary philosophy and historical record.
I know in the South it's almost hearsay not to use teabags for iced tea, sweet tea (got cavities?), or sun tea (I once tried making gloom tea, since I live where it's perpetually overcast, but it wasn't very tasty). Lipton's or Luzianne seem to be what you find in the cupboards almost universally in the South. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start the Adagio revolution!
(Though, I hate to admit it, Southern Iced Tea is probably the best darn thing I've ever tasted that ever touched a teabag!)
Personally, I use the 32 oz Ingenuitea. I place enough tea leaves for about 66 ounces of normally brewed tea (a tad bit more than double strength). I pour in water that's just off a fresh first boil. I let things steep for 2-5 minutes, depending on the tea. Now this is where I get perhaps unnecessarily tricky.
I place the Ingenuitea over a big 2 quart glass Pyrex measuring cup, resting it carefully on the lip, and fill to 16 ounces. I then return the Ingenuitea to its "steeping pod" and let the remaining tea in there steep 1-2 minutes longer. Meanwhile, I slightly sweeten the tea in the Pyrex measuring cup, stir and taste, adjust sweetness (then repeat stir and taste and) if needed. When the 1-2 minutes is up, I place the Ingenuitea back over the Pyrex measuring cup and add in the rest of the tea.
I stir the tea together, taste, then add a touch more sweetener if absolutely needed. Then I add one quart water which has been held at room temperature. Adding cold water will make the tea cloudy and is not advised unless you like your guest asking, depending on the nature of your company, "hey, what's swimming in my tea?" or, "are those strands of DNA in there?" or, "did you use toilet water for this here tea?" Just say no to toilet tea, use clean water that's at room temperature for this.
Serve over ice, preferably in a nice tall skinny glass. At this point, I would not add more sweetener, though I would offer guests simple syrup (aka sugar syrup) on the side in case they have an itching to make use of their dental insurance.
[You can buy simple syrup easily enough at the store, but it's actually even easier and a whole lot cheaper to make at home. Basically, it's just water mixed with sugar and brought to a slow boil until the sugar completely liquefies and forms a consistent syrup. Keep stirring until you have your boil, then simmer for about 2 minute, remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature. Remember what we said about room temperature earlier? We'll it's true here too! Proportions of sugar to water are typically 2:1 though I prefer 5:3 so the syrup doesn't get too thick or, yes, sweet. Some people put in a touch of corn syrup to keep and promote consistency, "flavor," and ample employment for the genetic engineers working on more stable versions of alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase. I prefer to simply strain my syrup through a sieve once it's at room temperature. It can be kept in squeeze bottles or maple-syrup type dispensers in the fridge for a week or two. As with anything in your fridge, if it starts looking like DNA, throw it away! For variation, you can add fresh mint leaves at the beginning (which should be strained out for finished product) or a touch of Voyant Chai Liqueur at the end.]
Once the tea is cold and poured over ice, it will be hard to get any natural sweetener not in liquid form to properly dissolve. If you don't have or don't want to make syrup, you can offer whatever rots your boat on the side. Just be sure to include an easy-grip spoon for all that stirring that'll be needed!
If you like your tea "naked," omit adding any sweetener at all. Personally, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I think Adagio teas tastes best when naked, or perhaps just with a little loin cloth of India Tree or Rapunzel sugar; nonetheless, the South might just not be ready for naked or nearly-naked Adagio yet!
Though seemingly a little more work than most people would like to put up with, this method:
* allows me a chance to correct myself if I over-sweeten the tea after the first part of steeping
* doesn't make me wait hours for the tea to fully cool
* doesn't create cloudy beverages
* creates a layer of culinary complexity by combining two levels of tea steeping which provides depth and strength without becoming overly bitter (hence requiring too much sweetener)
* provides a better, fuller, brighter sparkle on the palate, preserving those delicate little wisps and hints of flavor which are often lost when teas are cooled
* allows a progression of flavors to be tasted over time like a melody instead of sinking to the sustain of a single chord or note
* leaves a nice linger once finished, presenting a pleasant echo of evolving memory
I actually have other developed methods significantly more complex than this which I employ at times, my favorite being a spiced milk tea loosely based on Kashmiri dabal and served up nice and cold--and pink.
I'd love to hear about other people's preferred methods for and experiences of loose-leaf iced tea making. Do share!
Will Gladly,
Jing Cha
tea and toaster to that quaintesttest of yarnspinners
I know in the South it's almost hearsay not to use teabags for iced tea, sweet tea (got cavities?), or sun tea (I once tried making gloom tea, since I live where it's perpetually overcast, but it wasn't very tasty). Lipton's or Luzianne seem to be what you find in the cupboards almost universally in the South. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start the Adagio revolution!
(Though, I hate to admit it, Southern Iced Tea is probably the best darn thing I've ever tasted that ever touched a teabag!)
Personally, I use the 32 oz Ingenuitea. I place enough tea leaves for about 66 ounces of normally brewed tea (a tad bit more than double strength). I pour in water that's just off a fresh first boil. I let things steep for 2-5 minutes, depending on the tea. Now this is where I get perhaps unnecessarily tricky.
I place the Ingenuitea over a big 2 quart glass Pyrex measuring cup, resting it carefully on the lip, and fill to 16 ounces. I then return the Ingenuitea to its "steeping pod" and let the remaining tea in there steep 1-2 minutes longer. Meanwhile, I slightly sweeten the tea in the Pyrex measuring cup, stir and taste, adjust sweetness (then repeat stir and taste and) if needed. When the 1-2 minutes is up, I place the Ingenuitea back over the Pyrex measuring cup and add in the rest of the tea.
I stir the tea together, taste, then add a touch more sweetener if absolutely needed. Then I add one quart water which has been held at room temperature. Adding cold water will make the tea cloudy and is not advised unless you like your guest asking, depending on the nature of your company, "hey, what's swimming in my tea?" or, "are those strands of DNA in there?" or, "did you use toilet water for this here tea?" Just say no to toilet tea, use clean water that's at room temperature for this.
Serve over ice, preferably in a nice tall skinny glass. At this point, I would not add more sweetener, though I would offer guests simple syrup (aka sugar syrup) on the side in case they have an itching to make use of their dental insurance.
[You can buy simple syrup easily enough at the store, but it's actually even easier and a whole lot cheaper to make at home. Basically, it's just water mixed with sugar and brought to a slow boil until the sugar completely liquefies and forms a consistent syrup. Keep stirring until you have your boil, then simmer for about 2 minute, remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature. Remember what we said about room temperature earlier? We'll it's true here too! Proportions of sugar to water are typically 2:1 though I prefer 5:3 so the syrup doesn't get too thick or, yes, sweet. Some people put in a touch of corn syrup to keep and promote consistency, "flavor," and ample employment for the genetic engineers working on more stable versions of alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase. I prefer to simply strain my syrup through a sieve once it's at room temperature. It can be kept in squeeze bottles or maple-syrup type dispensers in the fridge for a week or two. As with anything in your fridge, if it starts looking like DNA, throw it away! For variation, you can add fresh mint leaves at the beginning (which should be strained out for finished product) or a touch of Voyant Chai Liqueur at the end.]
Once the tea is cold and poured over ice, it will be hard to get any natural sweetener not in liquid form to properly dissolve. If you don't have or don't want to make syrup, you can offer whatever rots your boat on the side. Just be sure to include an easy-grip spoon for all that stirring that'll be needed!
If you like your tea "naked," omit adding any sweetener at all. Personally, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I think Adagio teas tastes best when naked, or perhaps just with a little loin cloth of India Tree or Rapunzel sugar; nonetheless, the South might just not be ready for naked or nearly-naked Adagio yet!
Though seemingly a little more work than most people would like to put up with, this method:
* allows me a chance to correct myself if I over-sweeten the tea after the first part of steeping
* doesn't make me wait hours for the tea to fully cool
* doesn't create cloudy beverages
* creates a layer of culinary complexity by combining two levels of tea steeping which provides depth and strength without becoming overly bitter (hence requiring too much sweetener)
* provides a better, fuller, brighter sparkle on the palate, preserving those delicate little wisps and hints of flavor which are often lost when teas are cooled
* allows a progression of flavors to be tasted over time like a melody instead of sinking to the sustain of a single chord or note
* leaves a nice linger once finished, presenting a pleasant echo of evolving memory
I actually have other developed methods significantly more complex than this which I employ at times, my favorite being a spiced milk tea loosely based on Kashmiri dabal and served up nice and cold--and pink.
I'd love to hear about other people's preferred methods for and experiences of loose-leaf iced tea making. Do share!
Will Gladly,
Jing Cha
tea and toaster to that quaintesttest of yarnspinners
shortattentionspan
Ah, looks like TeaChat forgot who I was sometime during composing my post. Or maybe Chris is intent on mixing up a new form of anonymous Guest in the Adagio laboratory. No, please, don't make me a monster! No, no, not that!
Anyway, if you attempt to make simple syrup at home, it's best to do so in good, heavy-bottomed saucepan that conducts heat well. I personally use a Mauviel copper saucepan that I picked up in a highfalutin supermarket (you know, the kind that stocks every variety of Republic of Tea and thinks they have the best selection of tea anywhere ever) for $40 (a bargain compared to the $100+ at Williams Sonoma and the like) and which I use only for making syrup or keeping my Chemex coffee warm.
Hey, has anyone ever tried making tea in a Chemex? The idea kind of scares me, but I'd love to know how it turned out.
Will Gladly,
Jing Cha
wildbroom, cabbageblad, stockfisch, longingly learn that there at the Angel were herberged for him poteen and tea and praties and baccy and wine width woman wordth warbling: and informally
Anyway, if you attempt to make simple syrup at home, it's best to do so in good, heavy-bottomed saucepan that conducts heat well. I personally use a Mauviel copper saucepan that I picked up in a highfalutin supermarket (you know, the kind that stocks every variety of Republic of Tea and thinks they have the best selection of tea anywhere ever) for $40 (a bargain compared to the $100+ at Williams Sonoma and the like) and which I use only for making syrup or keeping my Chemex coffee warm.
Hey, has anyone ever tried making tea in a Chemex? The idea kind of scares me, but I'd love to know how it turned out.
Will Gladly,
Jing Cha
wildbroom, cabbageblad, stockfisch, longingly learn that there at the Angel were herberged for him poteen and tea and praties and baccy and wine width woman wordth warbling: and informally
Here is a simple syrup recipethat I came across long ago:
I made it once and still have some sitting in my fridge, though after a while it looks like some of the sugar has separated at the bottom of the container. Also, I used organic cane sugar (as I use in all my tea) which gave it kind of a burnt tint, though it tasted fine.
-John
I made it once and still have some sitting in my fridge, though after a while it looks like some of the sugar has separated at the bottom of the container. Also, I used organic cane sugar (as I use in all my tea) which gave it kind of a burnt tint, though it tasted fine.
-John
Jan 27th, '06, 10:00
Posts: 83
Joined: Jul 11th, '05, 12:50
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact:
jzero
Re: shortattentionspan
You add that much sugar to most anything, and it's bound to taste goodJing Cha wrote:(Though, I hate to admit it, Southern Iced Tea is probably the best darn thing I've ever tasted that ever touched a teabag!)
I don't have a Chemex since I rarely drink coffee, but in my experience this sort of "gravity brewing" never works for tea since the water filters through too quickly.Hey, has anyone ever tried making tea in a Chemex? The idea kind of scares me, but I'd love to know how it turned out.
They Call Me Jzero
Tea
The Voyant Chai Liqueur is good in Iced Tea - my wife actually uses it in as a creamer in her Chai Tea - it is good 