I guess the middle of a Queensland Winter is probably not the best time for sharing ICED TEA information and recipes, but I do live in the SUNSHNE STATE and so I suppose anytime is good for a refreshing cool tea beverage.
I very quickly took to the bottled iced teas when they first hit the supermarket shelves. It was an easy way to get my tea hit on a hot day while I was at work. After a while I questioned the ingredients of the teas, and although they don’t have all the goodness I would have liked, and the percentage of actual tea included, I still find them a good quick hit of tea deliciousness.
I make a lot of my own iced tea – it can be as simple or as complex as you like. You can use tea bags of almost all varieties or you can develop your own fresh brew of leaves.
What is Iced Tea?
Iced tea is tea which is served cold, classically over ice to ensure that it stays cold. Many tea and tisane-drinking cultures have some form of iced tea, especially cultures with hot climates, and there are a number of different forms of iced tea, ranging from sweet, rich Thai iced tea with coconut milk to iced tea blends which include juice.
Brewing iced tea is generally fairly easy, as all one has to do is make a pot of tea and chill it. When iced tea is brewed, it is often made especially strong, so that it can be served with ice. As the ice melts down, the tea dilutes. If the tea was of normal strength, it might turn insipid and watery as a result of the dilution, but instead the tea remains strong and flavourful.Iced tea may also be mixed with juices to make it especially flavourful, or to create a specifically desired flavour. In some cases, pieces of fruit or vegetables may be added directly to the iced tea during the brewing and steeping process; in China, for example, iced tea is often made with slivers of ginger. Iced tea can also be brewed with things like lemons, strawberries, and fresh flowers, and these items may be served with the tea as well, for more visual interest.
Some well-known variations on iced tea include sweet tea, a form of iced tea served in the American South which is heavily sweetened during the brewing process, and Thai iced tea, an iced tea made with a strong blend of black tea and coconut milk, with a hint of sugar for sweetening. Iced tisanes like hibiscus tisane are also popular, especially in the tropics. It is also possible to find more exotic iced teas, like green iced tea with cocoa, in some regions of the world.
Making the Perfect Iced Tea
Iced for the hotter months to come. A Quartet of Iced Teas. As warmer weather approaches, many tea drinkers will find themselves wanting to swap their cups of steaming hot tea for tall glasses of iced tea. Though the beverage market is swamped with a wide variety of ready-to-drink teas-everything from sugary and flavoured to plain and sublime-making your own iced tea gives you the creativity to make your very own concoction with whatever tea you decide upon. It's easy to make and the options to personalize it are endless.
A quick recipe for one gallon of iced tea:
• Measure out 64oz (8 cups) of fresh, cold water. Heat to desired temperature depending on the type of tea you are using.
• Steep 3 1/2 Tbsp of tea leaves in the hot water for the same time you would do if preparing a cup of hot tea (ie, 5 minutes for black tea, 3 minutes for green, etc.)
• Remove tea leaves from water and pour the hot tea over a pitcher of ice. This will dilute the tea and cool it down quickly. You can add more ice if need be. This step also prevents the iced tea from clouding. If you still experience any clouding in your iced tea, add a touch of boiling water.
• Add any sort of additions you wish to, or enjoy plain.
Plain v. Flavoured - There is no right or wrong- it's up to you and whatever your palette is in the mood for! If you opt for plain, use the best quality whole-leaf teas you can find. You may want to stick with teas that have 'bright' notes; teas with inherent floral or fruity notes chill well. Teas with earthier, malty notes may not sound as appealing, but to each their own! Be adventurous; you might find something you enjoy hot makes a great cold, refreshing drink.
Flavoured Iced Tea - Flavoured iced tea can be both plain tea with additions or a flavoured tea as a based mixed with other ingredients to bring out their natural character. Here are some ideas for excellent add-ins:
• Sweeteners: Sugar, honey, agave nectar all make for good sweeteners. If you opt to make a Southern-Style Sweet Tea, add sugar while the tea is steeping. If using honey or agave nectar, it also helps to add them to the hot tea first and then stir until dissolved. If you prefer to add sweetener once the tea has been poured over ice, a quick recipe of Simple Syrup can make it easier- Boil one cup of water with one cup of sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. You can then add the syrup to the iced tea, or serve it in a squirt bottle so each person can sweeten at their own discretion.
• Fresh or Frozen Fruit: Fruit can definitely jazz up any iced tea. If using a flavoured fruit tea base, try a different kind of fruit to make a blend. Think of other fruits other than the usual lemon garnish. If using frozen fruit, they can also act as cooling agents for your iced tea. Chop up fruit into smaller pieces and add to tea after pouring over ice.
• Herbs and Spices: Add by the teaspoon various spices to add flavour to your teas while your tea is still hot, so it will incorporate properly. Try steeping star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger along with the tea to get the full flavour affect. Fresh herbs added to the tea once over ice will also help bring a certain complexity to your brew. Clean and trim fresh herbs such as mint, sage, lemongrass, lavender, basil, verbena, and lemon balm and add to your pitcher of iced tea. They'll add flavour and make for a nice garnish.
• Other Additions: Try sweetening your iced tea with 1/2 Cup of fruit juice or fruit puree. Pomegranate juice adds healthy components (to an already healthy drink!) and it's flavour is not too strong to overpower the tea flavour. Garnishes can also make for a winning iced tea: citrus flowers and herbs like mentioned earlier, but also edible flowers can make a darling decorative touch if you float them on top. Try also freezing juice or tea in ice cube trays and adding to the tea for both flavour, colour, and to keep the tea cold. Rim your serving glasses with sugar to add a little flair!
Iced Green Tea - You should never brew Green Tea with hot water and then cool it to prepare cold or iced tea. Instead, please double the amount of the Green Tea leaves used to brew it in cold water in a sealed container. This way you keep the aroma, the natural colour and the medicinal health benefits of the Green Tea. The reason this way is better, is that you avoid oxidation that can occur if the tea is left open to the air in an attempt to cool it after hot brewing. The brewing time is actually very short. For example, 10-15 cups of tea can be brewed in a jar in the ice box in just 30-45 minutes. Please note that you can refill the jar with water to brew more tea when the level reaches one third full. You may repeat the same procedure up to 3 times using the same Xianju Green Tea leaves. It is better than drinking water for walkers, runners, cycling, mountain climbing or any athletic sport in general that demands replenishment of body fluids.
4 Tips and Ideas for Making Great Iced Tea
Good homemade iced tea starts with good ingredients: Fresh, cold water and quality tea leaves, plus a bit of patience in its preparation.
1. Use Good Water - Tea is mostly water, so that water needs to be good. Whether you are making hot tea or iced tea, your tea water should be:
• Fresh: Your water should be fresh from your tap. Don't use water that has been sitting around, even if it is in a water filter pitcher. Water and ice that are stored in a refrigerator or freezer for any length of time will begin to take on food odors, which can spoil the flavour of your iced tea.
• Cold: Don't try to speed up the tea-making process by running the water hot out of the tap. That hot water has less oxygen than cold water, and will make an inferior tea.
• Good Tasting: You don't necessarily have to use filtered or bottled water to make your iced tea, but the water should not have a funky or "off" taste or smell. I've found that if water has a slightly sweet taste, it is often very good for making tea.
2. Use Good Tea - You don't have to use ultra-premium tea to make iced tea, but good tea (either bagged or loose leaf) makes a much tastier beverage than the cheap tea that you find in so many grocery stores. Find a reputable tea merchant and select good quality teas. If you choose to use loose leaf teas, there are several different types of loose leaf tea makers, filter pitchers, and infusers on the market for making your tea.
3. Preventing Cloudy Iced Tea - Cloudy iced tea is typically caused by chilling the tea too quickly after it has been brewed. The cloudiness is an aesthetic problem: It doesn't affect the tea's flavour. Here are some tricks for preventing cloudy iced tea:
• Use Nilgiri black tea for iced tea. It resists clouding better than other black teas, goes well with lemon, and makes a smooth and tasty hot tea, too!
• Don't "rapid chill" your iced tea. Make the tea and then let it cool down at room temperature before refrigerating or pouring over ice. (Also, by not pouring the iced tea directly over ice, thus diluting it, you'll have better control over its strength.)
• Cold-brew your ice tea (also called "refrigerator brewing"). See tips below.
• If your tea is already cloudy, try adding a few slices of lemon, or a shot or two of boiling water to the tea to clear it up.
4. Refrigerator Iced Tea - First the bad news: Refrigerator brewing iced tea is not for the impatient. It takes a long time to properly brew iced tea without heat. Still, this method has several advantages:
• It doesn't heat up your home on hot days.
• Your tea brews clear.
• Your tea may contain both fewer tummy-bothering tannins as well as less caffeine.
• Cold brewing can be a good way of using up lesser quality teas: The cold-water extraction process can mute bitter and disagreeable flavours. Brewing refrigerator iced tea is simple: Just add tea or teabags to a pitcher or jar of cold water, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. The amount of tea used varies depending on your preference: I usually use 1-2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea, or 1-2 teabags per 8 ounces of water. Loose leaf tea can either be placed in an infuser, or added directly to the water. When the tea is done infusing, just pour the tea through a strainer into a pitcher. Any type of tea can be used to make refrigerator iced tea, though some work better than others.• Ceylon black tea is from Sri Lanka, and often has a natural lemon/citrus flavor. It makes a particularly delicious iced tea when cold-brewed.
• Keemun is a Chinese black tea that also can make a wonderful refrigerator iced tea. However, Keemun can be very expensive, so you may not want to use it in the quantities you need for a large pitcher of iced tea.
• Avoid making iced tea with Assam. Its malty characteristics make it taste strange as a cold-brew iced tea.
• Many green teas take well to the refrigerator brewing method. A decent gunpowder green tea or mid-grade Japanese sencha can make lovely and refreshing iced teas.
• Oolong teas can make very interesting and remarkably refreshing cold-brewed iced teas. Oolong teas are partially oxidized, and some are very "green" while others are closer to black tea in colour and flavour. Bao Zhong, also called Pouchong, is a very lightly oxidized green oolong with sweet and floral flavours that makes an amazing iced tea. Ti Guan Yin is another floral green oolong that is richer in flavour than Bao Zhong, and it makes a hearty iced tea indeed. If you like darker oolongs, try Oriental Beauty: This oolong is heavily oxidized due to little leafhopper insects that bite its leaves while still on the plant. It makes a honey-sweet and spicy iced tea. Oolong teas that are flavoured with osmanthus and ginseng also worth trying as refrigerator brews.
• White teas are often too subtle to make good refrigerator-brewed iced teas. Many herbal tisanes (herbal teas), such as rooibos, also need hot water to extract their flavour. The same goes for chai tea: While iced chai is delicious, the spice flavours in chai won't develop in cold water. That said, you might want to try adding a particularly strong herb, such as fresh or dried mint, to your batch of black or green refrigerator iced tea for a bit of extra flavour.http://tea.suite101.com/article.cfm/4-tips-and-ideas-for-making-great-iced-tea
Making Iced Tea
While the British love their hot tea, citizens in other countries – especially America – are crazy about drinking it cold. Iced tea accounts for more than 70% of the tea consumed by Americans each year. The drink was first introduced to the American public at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and quickly became popular with the masses.
While Northerners tend to consider iced tea a summertime beverage, those who live in the American South drink it all year long, regardless of the temperature outside. They’re especially passionate about their iced tea and endeavour to make the best at all times. If you want to re-create great iced tea, it’s really not a difficult task. Just follow a few steadfast rules and you can be sure that your tea will be perfect every time.
The Process of Making Iced Tea
It’s best not to make just one glass of ice tea at a time but a whole pitcher that family and friends can share or that you can enjoy all day long. To make about 48 ounces of sweet-tasting iced tea, carefully adhere to the following recipe:
• Choose your favourite tea. These days, ice tea doesn’t have to be your garden variety orange pekoe, though most southern cooks will tell you that the traditionally flavoured tea bags make the best tea. The berry flavours make rather nice, light ice teas…perfect for hot, summer days.
• Bring one quart (4 cups) of cold water to a boil in a teapot of your stove. (Don’t microwave the water!)
• When the water has come to a complete boil, pour it over the tea bags. Most tea experts believe that 5 to 6 small tea bags are suitable for this quantity of iced tea. Tie the tea bags together so that they’re easy to remove when it’s time. If you’re using “family-sized” tea bags, which are usually 7 oz. versus 2 oz., use 2 large bags (but you may not want to let it steep as long). Glass pitchers are usually best. Metal and plastic pitches are discouraged as they sometimes give off an unusual taste or retain smells from previous beverages they held.
• Put the tea aside and allow it to steep. One hour of steeping time is usually sufficient but if you’re not available to remove the tea bags after one hour, don’t worry. The tea will still be fine. Some people even let it steep overnight and maintain that such lengthy steeping makes a better tea. Others leave it outside and make “sun tea”. Use a sealed container if you’re putting it outside as it may attract bugs if it’s not closed tightly.
• Once you remove the bags, this is the time to add the sugar. “Real” iced tea and “real” iced tea drinkers don’t worry about calories! However, if sugar is a problem for you, you can skip this step. If you are adding sugar, start by trying about 2/3 cup. After a few tries, you’ll know whether or not this is the right amount of sweetener for your tea. Don’t forget to stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Once the sugar is totally dissolved, add 2 more cups of cold water. Stir again and place in the refrigerator to chill. It’s important not to add ice cubes at this time. It waters down the iced tea and flattens the taste. Chilling should always take place in the refrigerator and ample time should be allowed to achieve a refreshing temperature.
• Never keep iced tea in the refrigerator for more than a day or two. It loses its pleasing taste.
• Always serve your ice tea with a lemon wedge that drinkers can squeeze into their glass. (Lemon slices don’t work because you can’t squeeze them.)
• Once you’ve perfected the technique for making the world’s best iced tea, you’ll no doubt make adjustments of your own to fit your taste. Be sure to experiment a bit with flavours and sweetness until you create your favourite concoction. Before long, you’ll be drinking gallons!
No comments:
Post a Comment