# Best Iced Tea recipe



## Janet H

It's summer and time for iced teas.  Do you have a favorite iced tea? A perfect method or cool tip?

I make a variant of sun tea but the blend of tea bags makes this my favorite.  

1 gal hot tap water
7 bags Red Rose brand tea
3 bags earl gray tea

Place tea bags in pitcher add water and leave on counter for 8 hours (overnight).  Remove tea bags and chill tea .  Make sure that tea container is airtight.

I'm not sure why but Red Rose make fabulous iced tea - I go out of my way to find it in the summer.


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## Andy M.

I use more tea bags and add sugar and lemon juice so it's all pre mixed.  I typically brew the tea in half the amount of water then dissolve the sugar and add the lemon then add ice and ice water to make up the balance of the water.  That way I have the heat to brew the tea and dissolve the sugar and the addition of the ice and cold water speeds the chilling process.


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## Barbara L

For James's tea, I use 4 family size LUZIANNE tea bags to a gallon.  I add about 1/3 of the water to it, almost boiling, to steep the tea bags, then I add cold water and refrigerate.  James likes his tea with no sweetener.

For my tea (or as James calls it, pancake syrup) I do it the same way, but when I add the almost boiling water, I add one of three things.  For my favorite tea, I add close to 2 cups of sugar for a gallon pitcher.  For my second favorite, I use about 1/2 cup sugar and the rest store brand Splenda.  For my least favorite, but still good (when I'm trying to be good, lol), I use store brand Splenda and no sugar.

I discovered Luzianne tea 15-20 years ago and have preferred it over any other since.  I can always tell when a restaurant is using Luzianne.    So smooth, and perfect for iced tea.

Barbara
P.S. Because of something stupid  my cousin and I did when I was 10 and he was 5, I cannot stand lemon in my tea, so I just drink my tea plain, with sugar/sweetener.


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## kadesma

I brew 6-8 bags of green tea Making it strong,then I add  a bottle of snapple mango madness to it. Chill well and add lots of ice to me glass. The best.
kades


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## babetoo

i just put eight to ten tea bags (black tea, usually store brand) into pitcher, add hottest tap water, about two quarts. let steep fifteen minutes or until i remember it is there. pull out bags and lightly squeeze liquid out. i add 1/2 to 3/4 cup splenda, not choice here but necessity. put in fridg. till cold and serve over ice. i love a squeeze of lemon but can live without it.


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## PattY1

babetoo said:


> i just put eight to ten tea bags (black tea, usually store brand) into pitcher, add *hottest tap water*, about two quarts. let steep fifteen minutes or until i remember it is there. pull out bags and lightly squeeze liquid out. i add 1/2 to 3/4 cup splenda, not choice here but necessity. put in fridg. till cold and serve over ice. i love a squeeze of lemon but can live without it.




Hot tap water could include sediment from the bottom of the water heater and make your tea taste funny.


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## PrincessFiona60

I steep whatever tea we are enjoying at the time (8 tea bags) in 1 quart of water and pour it into a gallon jar filled with ice cubes.  Sugar as needed in the glass, no lemon for me.


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## spork

My every day iced tea is actually not tea.  Roasted barley.  _mugi-cha_.  Steeped in room temp tap for about two hours, then refrigerated.  Straight up, no ice.  Tastes a bit like a light stout beer without the fizz or alcohol.


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## Kimber

I boil up a gallon or so water. Pour it in my big pitcher and add 5-6 Tetley teabags, 2 Raspberry herbal teabags,  2/3 cup sugar, and Squeeze the juice of a lemon in. I use a sieve for the lemon because I don't want seeds or pulp. Then it cools on the counter and goes in the fridge. 2 days later, repeat!

 Kades, the Mango thing sounds really good. And Spork! Very original! I think my daughter would like that. I'll pass it on.


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## Andy M.

At one time, I used a can of frozen lemonade concentrate to sweeten and flavor iced tea.


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## Wyogal

yep, an Arnold Palmer; tea and lemonade
The roasted barley drink sounds interesting! Do you roast/toast the barley yourself?


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## babetoo

PattY1 said:


> Hot tap water could include sediment from the bottom of the water heater and make your tea taste funny.


 
i can't see what difference boiling the water makes. if there is sediment in the tap water it will also be in the boiled water. i have done it my way for many years. don't remember the tea tasting funny. 

of course i also made sun tea, now we are told that is not good. who knows?


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## Wyogal

I think there is a whole thread dedicated to the concept of using hot tap water...
ahh yes, here it is...
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f129/why-cant-we-use-hot-tap-water-to-cook-60683.html


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## babetoo

Wyogal said:


> I think there is a whole thread dedicated to the concept of using hot tap water...
> ahh yes, here it is...
> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f129/why-cant-we-use-hot-tap-water-to-cook-60683.html


 
checked it out, seems to be pretty much even up on opinions.


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## Wyogal

yep. thought we could head it off at the pass, so to speak, on this thread.


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## PattY1

babetoo said:


> i just put eight to ten tea bags (black tea, usually store brand) into pitcher, add hottest tap water, about two quarts. let steep fifteen minutes or until i remember it is there. pull out bags and lightly squeeze liquid out. i add 1/2 to 3/4 cup splenda, not choice here but necessity. put in fridg. till cold and serve over ice. i love a squeeze of lemon but can live without it.





babetoo said:


> i can't see what difference boiling the water makes. if there is sediment in the tap water it will also be in the boiled water. i have done it my way for many years. don't remember the tea tasting funny.
> 
> of course i also made sun tea, now we are told that is not good. who knows?


  I never heard that sun tea was not good. Why?


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## Wyogal

bacteria grows in it at room temperature.


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## PattY1

Wyogal said:


> yep. thought we could head it off at the pass, so to speak, on this thread.



I was just passing along what I was told to be true.


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## Barbara L

PattY1 said:


> I never heard that sun tea was not good. Why?


You can get pretty much the same results in a safe way by putting tea bags in the pitcher of water and letting it sit in the refrigerator over night.

Barbara


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## Wyogal

It works especially well with the cold-brew type.


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## LPBeier

I still make ice tea the way my Mom did every summer for as long as I can remember.  She would just make a pot of tea, but instead of using 2 tea bags, she would use 4 and steep it twice as long.  Then she would pour it into a glass pitcher we had that was only used for ice tea that was filled to the brim with ice.  The hot tea would melt the ice and get cold.  We would drink it straight, with no sugar and sometimes a lemon squeeze.  To this day I can't drink sweetened tea and love it this way.


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## Wyogal

That's pretty much how our local coffee house serves iced tea, they brew it fresh per order, then pour over ice. I had Chinese gunpowder last night.


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## babetoo

patty , i think the reason is bacteria can grow in the tea as the sun heats it up. i am not sure. i did it forever and never made anyone sick. just not really set up here for it. no sun on the porch and really don't want to do out in the yard.


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## Wyogal

snopes.com: Bacteria in Sun Tea Risk


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## MostlyWater

Barbara L said:


> You can get pretty much the same results in a safe way by putting tea bags in the pitcher of water and letting it sit in the refrigerator over night.
> 
> Barbara



That's what i do.  I prepare it in the afternoon, for the next day as i like to drink it at work instead of coffee some mornings.  I take a a large water bottle, put in a green tea bag and a fruit flavored one, with some hot water, and then I let it steep for a couple of minutes (usually I got to the bathroom in the meantime) and I add a packet of sugar - or not.  Before it goes in the fridge, I fill the bottle with cold spring water and let it steep until I drink it.


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## spork

I don't know...  I suppose I should boil my water and steep my tea in the frig, but there will always be advocates of more extreme measures of safety than your own sense of extreme precaution, and I'd rather not live with the paranoia of bacteria in my tap water and cupboard tableware.

I'm not a hot tea connoisseur, but I know that different loose teas have different recommended brewing temps, some are steeped in boiling water while others are optimally steeped at body temp, etc.  Safety is one consideration determining temperature; so is taste.

Yesterday, I saw a gallon of tea pasted with Arnold Palmer's face on the shelves at my local CVS store and realized what it was thanks to this DC thread.

The wiki for roasted barley tea:  Roasted barley tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Wyogal

I know that snopes mentioned the bacteria that may be found in water, but I think it has more to do with things that can grow on the tea itself.
oh yeah, DC it TOTALLY responsible for Arnold Palmers...


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## spork

Wyogal said:


> I had Chinese gunpowder last night.


  What is that?

I've tried several times to make Thai iced tea with coconut milk, unsatisfactorily.  If anyone knows how, I'd love to see recipe/tips.


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## Wyogal

It's a type of tea.
chinese gunpowder tea - Google Search


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## babetoo

i learn so much interesting stuff here on d.c. 

was watching iron chef last night. the ingredient was sea urchins. was curious to goggled it. watched people break them open and eat them raw. not a pretty sight. would not eat myself but it was interesting. one never knows where knowledge might be


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## bakechef

I  like my tea sweet, Luzianne is my favorite for iced tea.  I can only drink unsweet if it is really good tea, it has to be made perfectly and with really good filtered water or I can't drink it.


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## mexican mama

This one is easy...a pitcher flavored iced tea(twinnings) then a bit of sugar and a jigger(depending on how sweet you want it) of Grenadine syrup.You can also add mint leaves for garnish.


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## JamesS

bakechef said:


> I  like my tea sweet, Luzianne is my favorite for iced tea.  I can only drink unsweet if it is really good tea, it has to be made perfectly and with really good filtered water or I can't drink it.



Luzianne has been my tea of choice for iced tea lately too. I used to make it ahead and keep it in the refrigerator, but just can't seem to find room these days.  

I take a single (normal sized...not iced tea sized) bag and add hot water from the water cooler to it in a small coffee mug.  Let it steep for a minute or so with a little dunking, fill a 24oz bar glass with ice to the top, drop a few of the cubes into the hot tea (to temper it so the glass won't break in the next step), and then dump all of it over the ice. Stir and enjoy!


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