How to Make Iced Tea

Remember that nostalgic refreshing drink on a hot summers day? Now you can make it at home with just a few ingredients. 

Additional Ingredients

Three ingredients pair exceptionally well with Iced Teas:

• Slices of citrus (lemon, lime or orange)
• Fresh fruit (like strawberries, raspberries, peaches)
• Fresh mint sprigs

Ratio Tea & Water 

• 1 Teaspoon tea (2 grams) + 180 ml boiling hot water (filtered water)
• 5 people = 5 teaspoons of tea + 900 ml of boiling hot water (filtered water)
• You can multiply the quantity and volume of water to suit the number of people you want to make iced tea for.

#1 Simple Recipe using Hot Brew Method

• 1 Teaspoon of Tea of your choice
• 180 ml of boiling water (filtered)
• Mix together in heat proof glass with lid or saucer
• Stir several times, leave lid on for the tea to steep and extract flavour
• Remove saucer, stir and allow to cool
• Fill a new glass with ice, put strainer on top, pour over tea
• Add: slice of lemon or lime 
• Add: honey, stevia or sugar to sweeten as desired

#2 Simple Recipe for Cold Infusion

• Add 1 teaspoon of tea of your choice to a water bottle
• Add filtered water 180-mls, put lid on shake well for 30 seconds
• Put into fridge overnight to steep 

#3 Southern Iced Sweet Tea   

This recipe was provided by Southern Living.

Use a black tea for this, we recommend (in this order) any of these teas:

• Bold English Breakfast Tea
• Forever Young English Breakfast with Rose
• Stormy Earl Grey Tea
• Chic French Earl Grey Tea

Ingredients

For a better brew, make sure you are doing these four steps correctly:

Boiling
Tea (both hot and iced) tastes best when made with water that has been brought to a rolling boil (212°F) in a saucepan or kettle on the stovetop. Microwave ovens do not heat up water as evenly, which affects the tea's flavor.

Steeping Pour boiling water over the tea bags instead of adding them to the hot water. Let them steep until the liquid is strong, dark, and deeply flavored. The rule in many households is that a pitcher of tea should be so dark that you cannot read the newspaper through it.

Cooling Steeping the tea in a smaller amount of boiling water makes a double-strength brew. Then add cool water, which begins the chilling process required before refrigeration. Diluting the tea with ice would cool it down more quickly, but it wouldn't taste nearly as good.

Why do you put baking soda in sweet tea? It might sound strange, but a pinch of baking soda is the secret sweet tea ingredient that combats bitterness and makes crystal clear tea every time.

How long should tea steep for iced tea? If following our recipe, no more than 15 minutes. Too much time steeping draws more of the tannins out of the tea, which can make it taste bitter.

How do I serve sweet tea? Sweet tea is served chilled over ice. Garnishes, such as citrus slices or mint sprigs, are optional and can be added to the pitcher or glass at serving time. It can also be spiked for a grown-up refreshment.

How long does sweet last? Sweet tea tastes best freshly brewed, no more than a day old, two tops, so make sure to serve it up as soon as it's chilled.

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Iced Tea

How long should you let tea steep?

• Green tea 2 minutes
• Black tea 2-3 minutes
• All other floral / herbal teas 5-10 minutes

Black and green teas have a tendency to go a little bitter when they are left too long in hot water, this is due to the temperature and oxidation in the tea leaves sitting still for too long. This doesn't happen with caffeine free (herbal/floral) teas.

Which teas are which?

The following is a list of teas from our catalogue. You can use this guide for any of the teas that fit this description.

Green Teas include:

• Calm Sencha Tea
• Japanese Matcha Tea - coming soon
• Love Jasmine and Green Tea

Black Teas include:

• Bold English Breakfast Tea
• Stormy Earl Grey Tea
• Chic French Earl Grey Tea
• Forever Young English Breakfast with Rose

Floral Teas include:

• Aloha Hibiscus Tea
• Refresh Acai Berry Tea
• Empress Blue Butterfly Pea Flower
• Superfood Acai Berry Powder

Herbal Teas include

• Wellness teas
• Spearmint tea
• Jasmine tea
• Tulsi tea - coming soon
• Immune Booster Ginger and Papaya leaf tea
• Relax sleepy time tea

Tea Tips

Don't boil tea and water on the stove, it will destroy the beneficial properties and ruin the flavour. Simply, bring your water to a boil and then add the tea leaves, if you are so inclined to boil together, ensure the water is on the lowest heat setting.

Iced Tea for Garden Party

To make tea in larger volumes, simply multiple the quantity of tea x people and do the same with the water.

For example if you are having a party, or catering for an event look at your container for holding the tea, e.g. 20 litres. Boil water for 5 litres (1/4 total volume), add tea leaves and allow it to cook in the boiling water for a longer period.  Add remaining water, mix well, allow to cool. Add honey, stevia or sugar to taste.

• 20 litres will make approximately 111 servings.
• 1 serving of tea is approximately 2 grams.
• 111 x 2 grams = 222 grams ~ +/- of tea.

If you are making tea in larger quantities, I recommend preparing in smaller batches (e.g. 5 litres) at a time so you can control the strength and flavour.

So now you know how to make iced tea, what are your favourite ingredients to add to iced tea?