Hey, Tea Drinkers!
Of course, there’s nothing like a hot cup of tea on a rainy day or the dead of a chilling winter, but what do you do for all those summer scorchers? You might want to try a cooler beverage. Chill your hot drink and throw some ice in there to keep your drink refreshingly COLD! If it’s a hot day in your neighborhood, then today’s perfect to celebrate Iced Tea Day.
One amazing wonder about tea is that it’s such a versatile drink. You can prepare it so many different ways. Hot or cold—the temperature of this beverage is just the tip of the versatiliTEA iceberg. In honor of Iced Tea Day today, I’ll just talk about all the different ways to make ICED Tea.
Served with or without ice, there are many different styles to iced tea:
1.) Some iced tea is sweetened. Lipton offers their iced tea powder—just add water and stir; and you can find Iced Tea in a can from brands like Peace Tea. These popular, packaged cold drinks are typically sweetened with syrup flavors like raspberry, lemon, strawberry, etc., and are usually available in unsweetened versions as well.
2.) Some tea is made infused with loose tea leaves while most chilled, herbal tea makes for good iced tea. This type of iced tea is made by steeping your tea in boiling water for somewhere around five minutes (depending on the type of tea you’re using and how hot your water is) and then chilling it.
3.) Another way to prepare iced tea is called ‘Sun Tea’. While the result is essentially the same as #2, it prolongs the steeping process as water at a cooler temperature shows some resistance to infusion of tea leaves or bags. Leaving a pitcher out for an hour in the sun gives the tea enough time to permeate the pitcher. Fill a glass full of ice and pour the contents of your pitcher for yourself. This takes the longest, but it’s pretty simple. It’s my preferred method.
Always a great way to cool off on a hot day, enjoy Iced Tea Day and, as always, thanks for reading.
- John