To make one and one-half quarts of iced tea, put a quart (that's 4 cups) of fresh, cold water in a teapot or pan or whatever and bring it to a boil. * I use Brita filtered water to make my tea* When the water comes to a boil, pour it over 5 small tea bags in a heatproof container. Set the container aside and allow the tea to steep for at least an hour, then remove the tea bags. If you like sugar, you can make a simple syrup and add it to you tea, or just use good old fashioned sugar! I don't drink sweet tea, but my Dad does and he says the simple syrup works the best in iced tea. Know why? Adding sugar to cold tea is bad (apparently?) because the sugar won't really dissolve in the coldness of the tea, and you'll just end up with a nasty looking 'pile' of sugar at the bottom of your glass.
Now, about the lemon. The purpose of lemon is not merely to make the glass look attractive. For most serious iced tea drinkers, lemon is a necessary ingredient. For me, it is paramount to my iced tea being perfect!
You want the recipe for the perfect iced tea? Here are some of my own personal tips!- For iced tea, I've always used Lipton, and also think that Luzianne makes for great iced tea too.
- Try to have a glass or fiesta ware type pitcher- the cheap plastic ones and even metal are ok for parties (decorative) but they can make your iced tea taste metallic and plasticy... yuck!
- Fresh tea is the best tea. If you keep it in the fridge for days, or on the counter top *eek!* it will become cloudy and taste yucky. Just make enough of what you need, then make fresh tea when you need it next.
- After I brew my tea (I use a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker,) I immediately place it in the fridge to chill it down. I don't add ice to it until it is nice and cold- the reason for this? If you add ice to the tea before it is chilled, the ice will melt resulting in watery iced tea. In short, the ice dilutes the tea!
- I like to use cubed ice (smaller cubes) in my tea and if I can get it, I LOVE CRUSHED ICE! I then add a nice lemon slice and sometimes a sprig of mint.
- If you like your tea stronger, let it steep longer. If you like it milder, steep it for about 5 minutes. I usually use about 5-6 of the regular iced tea bags and I prefer the decaf ones. I have enough craziness in my life, and I don't need the jitters!
- Last, ENJOY!!!!
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