The Everyday Tea DrinkerGuide To Good Taste On A Budget
If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you. ~Gladstone, 1865
I dedicate this page to all who understand the joy of a good cup of tea.
Iced Tea
Richard Blechynden, a tea vendor at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, is credited with creating iced tea, in an attempt to boost sales of tea in the summer heat. Talk about a great idea!
When it comes to good old American iced tea I am not real particular. My family has mainly relied on Lipton tea to fill this need and I am not one to buck this family tradition. I prefer my ice tea on the strong side without sugar. I will take lemon if offered. Many people prefer sweet tea, which is often very weak tea with a lot of sugar. At least in the mid-west where I live you can order sweet or un-sweet tea at most restaurants. Sweet tea at a local restaurant is generally a much stronger brew than traditional southern sweet tea.
I really like the ice tea served at a nearby Red Lobster. I asked them once what brand they used and they kindly brought me a tea bag stamped Maryland Tea. I have never been able to locate a retailer for this brand. According to Red Lobster's website they use Tetley tea but this is definitely not what the tea bag was labeled in our local eatery. According to a web search Maryland tea is a product of Sara Lee. That makes sense - afterall, who doesn't like Sara Lee. It could also be the waiter just did not know the difference between the teas they used for hot tea and iced. Regardless, it is a strong clear brewed tea. There is little as disappointing as ordering ice tea and getting a weak cloudy or soured mess except possibly being served some nasty instant concoction.
Any tea can be served iced, but some blends work better in this regards. American iced tea is typically black tea of a pekoe / orange pekoe blend. No it doesn't contain oranges. It is so named because of the color of the infusion. Pekoe is the leaves around the bud. Orange pekoe is the leaves and the end buds of the shoot. Although this used to imply more of an aristocratic blend, Orange pekoe is now often considered to be a common tea. I suppose if I cared more about labels and less about taste I might refuse to drink what the peasants are drinking. As a blue collar, redneck, white guy, orange pekoe is as American as apple pie. I do not find it necessary to apologize for liking it.
I also get bored reading Lipton Tea bashing reviews. They remind me of the story of the restaurant that is so popular no one goes there anymore. Huh?, you say. Exactly, I respond. Lipton is popular because people enjoy it. There are cheaper teas so it is not just price making it to sell so well. Certainly, you can buy black teas that are more exotic. I suggest you make a tall glass of ice tea from each and see what tastes best to you.
It seems everyone has their own method of brewing ice tea. We use a pot on top of the stove and bring the water just to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add one tea bag for each glass plus one for the pitcher. When it reaches the proper strength we pour it over lots of ice in a pitcher and fill the rest of the way with water. Steeping time is important. The longer you leave the bags in the water the stronger the brew and the more likely it will become bitter. I have to admit very strong is the way we like it. To get a strong glass without the bitterness use more tea and less steeping time.
The secret to good ice tea, besides selecting a brand of tea you really like, is the water. Avoid using tap water. The chemicals in tap water will affect the flavor. Our tap water smells like clorine most of the time. Don’t use distilled water. It lacks minerals so it will taste flat. Do use spring water or bottled drinking water. You will notice the difference.
Ice tea tastes best when fresh. My brother carries this to the extreme. He will dump a pitcher after just two hours and make fresh. Stored tea turns cloudy and sours quickly. Refrigerated tea will pick up odors from whatever is kept with it. A lot of people chill their tea over night. If you do this you better have a well sealed container or it may taste like left-overs. Make it right. Drink it fresh.
The few bottled and canned ice teas I have tried have not made me a big fan. Most were so overly lemoned and sweetened they were just not good. Since they are trying to compete directly with soda pop, most bottled/canned teas seem way over done. They also have a tendency to be more like a fruit juice than a tea. Two I did like are Arizona Green Tea with honey and ginger, and Lipton Citrus Green Tea (I drink this one often). Both of these were labeled as green teas but neither tasted very tea-like. They were good but they did not taste like tea. I had the diet version of each, which contained Splenda, or Nutrasweet and they were both very sweet. I also recently tasted Canada Dry Green Tea. It was different. It was a carbonated beverage that did taste like sweetened green tea.
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Loose leaf or bags?
Tea Storage
Iced Tea
Hot Tea
Acid Reflux and Tea
Tea Economics 101
Tea Reviews
Tea Links
