Iced Tea

I like sweet iced tea and can drink it by the quart at a sitting, but I do not like the calories that come with it. To manage this, I make my own home brewed iced tea (usually decaffeinated), using erythritol instead of sugar. Erythritol, for my taste, is the only natural sweetener that tastes like sugar and does not leave an aftertaste. 1.7 liters of water (the max my electric kettle will hold), tea bags, and 3/4 cup of erythritol, and I am good to go.

I more enjoy the iced tea-lemonade combination (a.k.a. an "Arnold Palmer"). So far I am too lazy to get a juicer and squeeze lemons. I use the Realemon concentrate and their recipe for lemonade, (substituting erythritol with sugar) and mix it with my iced tea.

I will occasionally cheat and use store bought non-HFCS lemonade (like the Walmart Great Value brand) to mix with the ice tea. But even using this, I calculate the calories of my mix to be about 30 per 16 oz serving. This is way less than what you can find in the store, but still sweet enough for me.
 
ExFlyBoy5 said:
As a southerner, I would probably get in trouble for my method. I have a tea brewer that I put two family bags of Red Diamond tea in. Add a cup of sugar, brew, then add cold water. Mmm...good!

I used to do sun tea, but after hearing about the issues with bacteria/etc. I decided against doing that. I couldn't tell you if the bacteria issue is an actual issue or not, but I don't mind using the brewer.
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I’m a southerner, too, albeit living in the north, and I read the same thing about sun tea doing its thing in the bacteria temperature zone. That’s why I’m a refrigerator tea enthusiast these days. 🤠
 
Having moved south again, I have tea in the fridge at all times, though I’m an unsweet drinker (occasionally half-n-half sweet). I was using Luzianne cold brew, it’s OK. I switched to Celestial Seasonings recently, lots of flavors (I like variety), tastes good and more antioxidants. I just throw 6 teabags in 3 gal pitcher and let it steep overnight. I like all the Zinger flavors, like Raspberry Zinger. Good for now. I realize true southerners probably wouldn’t approve of herbal tea...
 
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jollystomper said:
I like sweet iced tea and can drink it by the quart at a sitting, but I do not like the calories that come with it. To manage this, I make my own home brewed iced tea (usually decaffeinated), using erythritol instead of sugar.
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Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try erythritol. Seems a bit pricey from what I see on line, but worth a shot if it's as good as everyone says. I had been using the generic version of Splenda. Not bad, and the price is right, but not ideal, either.

I'd been doing cold brew tea in the fridge, in one of those gallon "sun tea" jars with spigot you can find in the seasonal aisle at Walmart this time of year. Celestial Tea has a raspberry flavor cold-brew that's become my favorite.

About growing bacteria, I learned that the hard way. I got the bright idea to bottle my tea in recycled single-serving iced tea bottles I'd bought in a 12-pack. Of course I ran them through the dishwasher to sterilize, first. I sealed the filled bottles and left them by the door to bring to the fridge on the boat next time I went that way. In the meantime, a nice colony of something developed in the bottom of each jar. Yuck! Next time I'll do a hot brew and seal the bottles while it's still steaming!
 
What?? Nobody adds mint to their tea? Yall not from around here are ya'?
 
I use a large Lipton tea bag, and a regular sized Bigelow Raspberry tea bag, and pour boiling water from our electric tea pot over it, and steep for 3-4 minutes. I cut it with water to store in a lidded pitcher we keep in the fridge, which lasts all week for us.

Some days I want a cold green tea, so I just steep it in a cup and let it chill until I'm ready for it. We use Stevia to sweeten all the above.

I prefer hot tea, but it's too d*mned hot right now to drink anything hot, so it's cold tea for us.

Good thread! Lots of ideas to consider.
 
One thing I miss about w*rking for a company headquartered in the South is business trips to the home office. All the different varieties of sweet tea! Up north we're lucky to have a handful of choices, and then only in summer.

There was one brand of diet raspberry sweet tea I liked. That shelf on the beverage cooler in the company cafeteria would be empty by the time I left. I bet they wondered why every so often there would be a run on that one flavor.

Y'all are making me hungry for some real Southern cookin'! And I'm a Northern boy by birth.
 
An electric ice tea maker that my daughters gave me and 3 of whatever tea bags my wife buys on sale. Makes something over a gallon. I swill it in the summer, so that lasts about a day, maybe less. I drink it "unsweet" although sometimes I'll mix it with Newman's Own lemonade for an Arnold Palmer.
 
Only brew one cup at a time and use Celestial Zinger flavors.
Brew very strong, 1-2 bags and add boiling water, steep for a good 10 minutes or longer. Add a spoonful of honey, add fresh mint if I have some, and pour over ice in a large insulated tumbler.
In the winter, I add my cold buster ingredients; 1 tablespoon of Braggs vinegar with the mother, and an airborne tablet, drink that either cold or hot.
 
folivier said:
What?? Nobody adds mint to their tea? Yall not from around here are ya'?
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Yeah, I forgot. I used to add fresh chopped mint leaves sometimes when I shopped at the supermarket. One package of mint was good for about 1-1/2 gallons of tea so I had to make sure it was super fresh to last long enough.
 
Love jasmine ice tea, make up half gal at a time, sometimes add passion fruit from the plant outside when it has fruit.
 
Having been raised in the South, I watched my aunts and grandmother make terrific sweet tea by boiling two family size tea bags in a quart of water in a saucepan on the stove, then adding a full cup of sugar. Let it sit to room temp then pour over a pitcher of ice. It was terrific!

However, I am now considerable older, weight challenged and avoiding sugar for my health. So, I now bring 4 cups of water, in a 4 cup glass measuring cup, to a boil in the microwave. Take it out, add two Oolong or 4 White tea bags and let sit to room temp. Sweeten to taste (for me that's 5 squirts) of liquid stevia. Then pour over ice in a 16oz glass. Put the rest of the tea in the frig for refills. Never a bitter taste, no calories.
 
Microwave a quart of water and pour it over the tea bag that is filled with blueberry roobis tea. Put in fridge. Blueberry roobis stops me from snoring. Been doing it about 10 years now. Little expensive but wife buys it and she gets a good nights sleep.
 
I usually blend several kinds of tea, mostly from Ahmad Tea along with some Lipton. Ahmad has one of the best English Breakfast teas that is not bitter when iced. Their Ceylon is a bit heartier than Lipton black tea, and their English #1 is a lighter version (less Bergamot) than the typical Earl Grey tea.

I usually blend with 1/3 Lipton, 1/3 English #1, and 1/3 Ceylon/English Breakfast, depending on my mood. I allow the brewed tea to cool somewhat before refrigerating. I find pouring hot tea over ice to cool or drink immediately increases the chances of it being somewhat bitter and grassy.
 
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DW uses a Mr Coffee Ice Tea Maker. It makes a gallon, but start with full gallon and pour half into the ice tea maker, leave rest in the pitcher. Add 3-4 large black tea bags, let it brew and the brewed part mixes with the water in the pitcher. DW is quite picky and uses water from frig filter, or better yet from the refill bottles we fill at the water machine at grocery store. No sweetener, and no flavored teas, just straight tea. Put pitcher into frig after it cools to room temp to get cold.
 
I use the extra-large tea bags that are typically used at restaurants. They'll make one gallon of tea. I heat a pot of water to a boil, then add the hot water to the plastic pitcher and then the huge tea bag. Then I put in my seven whole-grain tablets of honest-to-God saccharin that I special order.

The water is boiled with a pot that will automatically shut itself off after reaching the boiling point.

I also add about one-third gallon of ice into the pitcher to cool down the whole thing immediately.

Whole procedure takes about 35 minutes to make a gallon, including the seeping time of 20 minutes.

I typically drink 4-5 gallons per week!
 
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38Chevy454 said:
DW uses a Mr Coffee Ice Tea Maker. It makes a gallon, but start with full gallon and pour half into the ice tea maker, leave rest in the pitcher. Add 3-4 large black tea bags, let it brew and the brewed part mixes with the water in the pitcher. DW is quite picky and uses water from frig filter, or better yet from the refill bottles we fill at the water machine at grocery store. No sweetener, and no flavored teas, just straight tea. Put pitcher into frig after it cools to room temp to get cold.
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We use the same Tea Maker, but use only Red Rose teabags, which we have found to taste much fresher and better than many other brands, 5 or 6 per batch.
 
statsman said:
I usually blend several kinds of tea, mostly from Ahmad Tea along with some Lipton. Ahmad has one of the best English Breakfast teas that is not bitter when iced. Their Ceylon is a bit heartier than Lipton black tea, and their English #1 is a lighter version (less Bergamot) than the typical Earl Grey tea.

I usually blend with 1/3 Lipton, 1/3 English #1, and 1/3 Ceylon/English Breakfast, depending on my mood. I allow the brewed tea to cool somewhat before refrigerating. I find pouring hot tea over ice to cool or drink immediately increases the chances of it being somewhat bitter and grassy.
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Ahmad teas are wonderful! I love their English Breakfast. I also love Republic of Tea’s British Breakfast tea.
 
Hello, may I take this opportunity to ask if anybody here has found a tea (for hot or cold) with a very strong scent of jasmine? I've tried 4 already and they are kind of faint, and one of them doesn't even have any smell at all! Will appreciate enormously any ideas. Thank you. :)
 
Y’all make your iced tea so WEAK!! I use double the amount of tea that most of you do, since it’s going over ice and gets diluted as you drink it. I also like to make it this strong because it takes up less room in the fridge that way. I make a quart at a time (extra-strength) and dilute it a bit as I go. Tea leaves make the best-tasting brew, but I use tea bags also for convenience. I love all types. Current favorites are Good Earth Sweet and Spicy and Tazo Zen green tea (with verbena, lemongrass, and spearmint). That’s the green tea you’ll get at Starbucks if you order their iced green tea. I also like mixing flavors. A bit of Constant Comment is terrific mixed with plain black tea. Earl Grey is fantastic iced as well (discovered that almost by accident). Mighty Leaf teas are amazing, especially the Organic Spring Jasmine green tea. Whole leaves in a nylon bag... lovely. And lastly, for those who like green tea, the Kirkland brand sold at Costco is produced in Japan and is very good!
 
Jasmine Green Tea

Rosedala said:
Hello, may I take this opportunity to ask if anybody here has found a tea (for hot or cold) with a very strong scent of jasmine? I've tried 4 already and they are kind of faint, and one of them doesn't even have any smell at all! Will appreciate enormously any ideas. Thank you. :)
Click to expand...

Try the Organic Spring Jasmine tea from Mighty Leaf Tea. Available from Peet’s, Amazon, grocery stores, and you might find it at Walmart or Target.

Prímula makes a tea ball (fun!) that flowers as it brews. That one is also very good. Available on their website and sometimes sold on QVC. A clear teapot is a must for that one! Enjoy!
 
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