Have read more and more about iced tea lately. Both in the comments here and on other blogs, I've read more and more about ways that people prepare iced tea. One place talked about taking a tea that's already been infused several times, that you then put in cooled water overnight. In the morning you have naturally brewed tea. I thought the hot water was essential, but I'm certainly going to try following the directions to get tea from cool water and almost over-used leaves.
I'm reminded of the way my mother made tea when we were young. It was also cool water, or at least room temperature, and she'd put it and the tea in a large glass jar. After several hours, the sun would've heated the water enough to seep the tea. 'Sun Tea' she called it. Inventive name, eh?
Always thought the sun and its heat were an essential part of the process, but now I'm wondering if you need sunlight or heat in general are even necessary. After I've done multiple infusions of a tea I really like, I'm going to try cold brewing it. Can't wait to tell you the results.
It's so hot today, I've considered simply putting a teabag in my mouth and letting the leafy goodness go straight into my system, but something tells me it'd be of no use whatsoever. My suspicion is that 'Sun Tea', as good as it can be, is far different from 'Bag-in-your-mouth' tea
To be honest, I have tried putting a tea bag in my mouth...A bit of a tannin overload.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't advise it haha
A teabag in your mouth, huh? That's an aumsing picture, he he.
ReplyDeleteAnyway..I don't drink iced tea, so I can't input a lot of wisdom here.
I would think that heat is definitely a good idea, because hot tea wouldn't taste of anything if you used cold water. So; if my hot tea wouldn't, why would the iced tea suddenly taste good? It would have no flavor.
Now it's time for you to spit out that Lipton's you're still sucking on.
Happy sun days,
J.
Sun tea is great, have been looking for a glass jug big enough like the one my family used to have when I was young.
ReplyDeleteI made a lot of sun tea in Iraq, during the recent troubles. Put some tea bags in a big water bottle, strap bottle to the top of the vehicle, drive around the desert all day. Let cool during the night, wake up the next morning and have a strong, flavorful bottle of cool tea to drink. Beats drinking bottle after bottle of warm, tepid water.
As for tea in your mouth...another army story. When out in the middle of nowhere and there is no sun and no heat (say, snowy German countryside in late November), tearing open a tea bag and putting the leaves in your mouth between your lip and you teeth (the way tabacco users stuff in dip) and letting it soak and sit is a good way to a dose of caffiene and other tea-goodness. Especially when you have a long, cold walk ahead of you in the middle of the night through snow and woods.
Ah, the good old days....
Sun Tea? Sounds nice.
ReplyDeletePeter, was joking about this, but leave it to soldiers to come up with a solution in a pinch.
ReplyDeleteSir Will, Jackie and Ice, I really may make some Sun Tea now that I've remembered how good it is. Although we have no ice, I'm sure it'd be good at room temperature.
I've found cold brewing works with some teas and absolutely does not work with others. I haven't yet figured out the secret though...for example I tried two pan-fired Chinese greens and one was terrible and the other was passable, with cold brewing. But I have yet to find a tea that really tastes great with cold-brewing.
ReplyDelete