# Caffeine - coffee vs tea?



## legend_018

ok, I'm not really a coffee drinker. I love ice coffees from dunkins and recently switched to "decaf" ice coffees. 

If I made homemade ice tea at home, am I going back to a caffeinated drink?


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## Katie H

Unless you're making your tea with decaffeinated tea or herbal tea, yep, you're going back to consuming caffeine.

For medical reasons, I make all my iced tea with either herbal or decaffeinated tea.  I can't tell the difference in taste.  Although, I have to qualify that statement by saying I never got a "buzz" from drinking coffee and, when I used it to keep me awake while in college, it never worked.  No-Doze didn't work either, so maybe I just don't react to caffeine like most people do.

One of my favorite herbal teas for iced tea is Blackberry-Sage made by The Republic of Tea.  It doesn't really even need to be sweetened.  It's great hot in the wintertime.


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## CherryRed

Yup, that's caffeine.

Try using decaffeinated tea. I recently switched over because I like to have tea at night but the caffeine in it was keeping me totally wired until early hours of the morning. It doesn't taste much different than regular caffeinated tea, so I consider it a win.


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## legend_018

That's what I thought. Just double checking. Thanks!!
If I make homemade ice tea, I'll try the decaf bags....if I can find them. I'm assuming i'll be able too.


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## Katie H

You shouldn't have any trouble finding decaffeinated tea.  Lipton makes one, most markets have a house brand, and I've seen other major brands with a decaffeinated version.  You'll be fine.


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## skilletlicker

No bearing on caffeine but since you mention iced tea, try steeping some fresh peppermint leaves along with the teabags.


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## Run_Out

How do they get caffeine out of tea/coffee?

later


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## Katie H

It's done chemically.  Look here for one of several explanations available on the Internet.

And, yes, skillet!  There's nothing more refreshing than some fresh mint in iced tea.  Yummy!


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## legend_018

I want to follow this ice tea recipe in a new food magazine that I got.
It calls for a gallon size tea bag. The store didn't have those : (.
I got a box of lipton decaf ice tea bags. there just regular size tea bags.

I don't know how many of those constitute a gallon? It says 72 tea bags (net wt 4.7 oz)

The tea bag doesn't say anything on it. I really wanted to follow this recipe.


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## Katie H

I've been using three regular tea bags to one large one and it seems to work for us.


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## legend_018

I looked around on the net and 3-4 was the average. I ended up putting in 4. I hope it's not too strong "lol". My DH probably will like it strong.

By the way the recipe was to boil 4 cups of water, steep the tea bags, add cup and 1/2 of sugar and than add 8 cups of cold water.


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## Andy M.

I've never heard of a gallon-sized tea bag!  You use one to make a gallon of tea?!

If that's the case, why wouldn't you use 16 cup-sized tea bags in place of a gallon-sized one?


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## Katie H

Andy, I think they're advertised as "family-sized" tea bags.


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## Andy M.

Thanks, Katie.  

I was a bit confused.  I use 12 regular tea bags to make a half gallon of iced tea.


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## legend_018

12 regular tea bags for a gallon seems like a lot? No? 

The recipe said to boil 4 cups of water, add the tea bags, steep and than add 8 cups of water. That is a total of 12 cups of water, which I believe is close to a 1/2 of a gallon.

It called for one gallon size tea bag, which I'm assuming is the "family sized" tea bag.

I used 4 tea bags. Does that sound normal?


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## legend_018

I just found this. Based on this recipe which is for a gallon, I would say I didn't do so bad choosing to put in 4 regular size tea bags for about 1/2 gallon

Southern Sweet Tea


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## Uncle Bob

It seems Lipton's recipe is 2 Family size bags per 8 cups(1/2 gallon) of water. So 4 Family size bags per 16 cups(1 gallon) of water. 

I dunno what ratio of tea to water we use. A tea bag in a pot to simmer for a few minutes with the lid on. Pour it in the pitcher and fill it with water. Voila! Tea!


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## legend_018

There is something either odd about the recipe I followed OR down south they like a LOT of sugar. MY DH and I couldn't believe how sweet it was. IT called for 4 cups boiled mixed with 1 cup and 1/2 of sugar. than add 8 cups of cold water. I ended up adding so much more water, that i lost track of how much more I added. Let's just put it this way, we already had a few glasses and I practically just turned a 1/2 gallon into almost a full gallon jug by adding more water "lol".


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## Katie H

Dear legend, darlin'!  In the south they serve something called "sweet" tea and it IS sweet.  It will curl your teeth.  I like my tea sweetened, but I don't care for the southern version, so I usually order unsweet tea and sweeten it myself.

You have made traditional "sweet" tea!  Welcome to the South!


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## Uncle Bob

Do what??


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## Toots

we have "sweet" tea here in KY - my mom makes sweet tea. Its too sweet for me though. I am into flavored iced teas, like Tazo's passion flavored tea, makes a wonderful fruity ice tea.

I recently bought loose tea at Tea Gerswender and now I have mango/pineapple tea and apricot tea - very good and doesn't really need much sweetener.


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## legend_018

I made a much better tea which was basically brewing about 10 tea bags in water, adding about 3/4 cups of sugar. adding 1/2 of a can of razberry juice concentrate from the freezor and pouring it all into a gallon jug. than filling the jug up with water the rest of the way. YUMMM. Maybe brew the tea or add more tea bags next time. but still yum and not too sugary. Made it for fathers day dinner for a choice, although the guys all drank beers 'lol'.


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## PanchoHambre

My favorite way to make hommade iced tea is to make sun tea just set the bags in water in a glass jug and leave in the sun to brew away. 

thanks for the reminder on the mint I have so much I need to use up


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## Dina

I am an absolute coffee lover.  I will drink tea during the day for hydration and because I know it's good for me.  Lately, my coffee is Starbuck's Costa Rica Tarrazu~a medium roast coffee with great, smooth flavors.  My daily teas are green tea with pomegranite combined with oolong and chamomile tea at bedtime or for those stressful moments (ladies, you know what I mean).


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