What is the best way to make iced tea for the freshest flavor?
If there was ever a loaded question, this is it. You see, there are purists that think iced tea needs to sit and allow itself to brew naturally and there are those that want to have piping hot water roll over the bags for a quick glass. In order to satisfy both, we are going to take the coward's route and explain the best way to make iced tea in both manners.
For fresh brewed iced tea, you can simply use your coffee maker. Just because it has the label of coffee on it, does not mean you can’t make it do whatever you want. After all, it is just a machine, not the boss of you! You can use this in much the same way that you make a pot of coffee. Simply fill the machine with the desired amounts of cups of water and then add your tea bags.
Where the trick comes in and something that many do not account for, is how much water you lose during the brewing process. This will actually help your coffee making as well. In most cases, you will lose about 10-15% of your water because of evaporation during the brewing process. That being the case, you need to adjust the strength of how much tea or coffee you are using. If you brew for 12 cups, only put 9 or 10 tea bags into the coffee holder.
Now for a really great tasting tea, let the sun brew it for you. Get a large glass container that has a seal on it. Fill that baby up with water and then put the appropriate amount of tea bags in. Figure about one tea bag per 10-12 ounces of water (dependent upon how strong you like your tea). Put the container in your window or outside and allow nature to takes its course. After a few hours, you are going to have the best glass of tea that you have ever tasted.
If you really want to do something special, add some rinds of your favorite citrus fruit to it. Peel them off and save the actual juice to add at the last minute. Add some lemon, orange or lime peels (or a combination) and then strain them off when you remove the bags. Give it a taste and if you need more flavor, add some of the juice as well. If you like your tea pulpy, you can add the whole fruit slices instead of just the rinds. It is like you own private batch of Snapple.
There simply is not a better glass of iced tea for the true connoisseur than a freshly brewed one. Whether you do it with man-made tools or let nature handle it, you are getting something far better than what you get out of the fridge at the corner store. Give both of these methods a try and see which one you like the best. Then you have the answer to the question, "How do I make the best glass of iced tea?"
brewed on Sep 2nd, 2009
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