- 6 to 8 tea bags
- 1 quart hot water (4 cups)
- 1 quart cold water (4 cups)
- 1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup honey,
optional
Iced tea is one of those delicious
flavors that just makes the summer time seem
worth while. It has all of the caffeine of
soda pop, but with none of the artificial
bubbly junk that feeds nameless corporations
and their ilk. Iced Tea is natural, honest,
and infinitely cheap. If your tastes run
towards the exotic, and away from caffeine,
then try your favorite herbal tea on ice.
Brisk and refreshing, it will open up new
avenues of beverage exploration.
Get out a 2-quart size sauce pan. Put the
hot water in it and bring it to a boil. Add
the tea bags. Remove the pan from the heat,
and allow it to steep for 10 minutes. No
more, no less. Set the timer. If the tea
sits for too long, it will extract bitter
elements from the tea leaves, making the
finished product taste horrible. If it
doesn't sit long enough, it won't be strong
enough to give you the caffeine jolt which
iced tea was designed for. When the time is
up, remove the tea bags and blithesomely
toss them into the garbage, they have served
their purpose. Put the cold water into a
2-quart size pitcher. Pour the hot tea into
the pitcher, over top of the cold water. You
put the cold water in first, because the hot
tea could melt the pitcher, seeing as it is
so hot. The cold water acts as a buffer, and
cools the tea. Add the sugar or honey if you
like, stirring to dissolve it completely.
Put the pitcher into the fridge to cool. Or
it can be poured directly into an ice filled
cup.
I like iced tea strong, so I use 8 tea bags.
I buy the boxes of 100 tagless tea bags,
usually a store brand, for about $1 a box.
This makes 2 quarts of tea at a cost of 8¢!
I don't add sugar to mine, preferring it
unsweetened. But that is a personal choice,
and lots of folks like it with added sugar.
The nicest thing about this recipe is that
it makes perfect iced tea every single time.
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