Iced Tea: which tea to choose and how to make it.
Iced tea is perfect on a hot day and is easy to make. It may be made hot, then cooled or be cold-infused. The latter takes longer but cold infused tea better carries the lighter, fresher more floral flavours into your glass. This is especially important when making with green teas.
The big commercial brands tend to use cheap, prolifically growing tea from Argentina which is noted more for its colour than for its taste but once sugar and lemon has been added they hope you will not notice that detail! The real characteristic of note is that the tea should remain clear, rather than turning cloudy, once cooled.
We would recommend a light-bodied Ceylon Uva, Darjeeling or China Keemun tea made stronger than usual and then poured into a large glass jar. Being speciality loose leaf tea merchants we would always recommend large leaf grades of loose tea for the most balanced flavour, rather than tea bags. After brewing strain the tea and leave to cool and then refrigerated over-night. To serve, a sprig of fresh mint or slices of lemon or lemon and orange or lime can be added together with ice cubes. A little sugar may be added to taste but we would recommend doing without - it adds to the refreshing quality of this iced tea. You may also consider a sliver of fresh ginger.
Whilst having less 'bite' due to the very much lower level of tannins, green teas make good cold teas. We have successfully infused black and green Darjeelings and would particularly recommended the muscatel character of these teas. China green teas are also worth trying for their floral characters. You are less inclined to feel the urge to add sugar when making with green tea due to the much lower caffeine content, thereby making a healthier drink.
As an alternative to hot-infused tea, you may choose cold-infuse tea. This lessens the tannin content making it particularly refreshing. Cold-infused tea tends to bring out the floral charcteristics of the tea and makes a more rounded tea compared with hot-infused tea. Cold-infusing is well suited to green teas, which tend to have a fruitier character when made this way. Simply place the tea in a screw-top jar with cold water and leave over night or for as long as twenty-four hours, then strain. Scented teas such as Earl Grey or Jasmine work well when cold-infused.
As for the conventional making of tea but especially for both hot and cold infused iced tea we recommend that you use filtered or spring water to best release the subtle flavour components of the tea.
Keep your infused tea in a large screw-top jar in the fridge. It will keep for several days. Do not expose to daylight during storage as algaes can form.
Iced tea can be used as the basis for a wide range of tea based mocktails to which fruit juices have been added. These can include mango and apple. And indeed if that stage of a long day has been reached a little white rum or vodka can make an excellent tea based cocktail!
Several flavoured teas (whether based upon black or green teas) can be recommended ices for summer drinking:
- Earl Grey or Green Earl Grey
- Black tea with Lemon
- Black or green tea with Rose
- Black or green tea with Vanilla
- Black tea with Mango
- Orange Blossom Oolong
- Jasmine tea
- Morrocan Mint.
Beyond tea itself there are of course herbal infusions to consider as several make very refreshing chilled summer drinks. In particular we would recommend:
- Peppermint or Spearmint (Egyptian Mint).
- Lavender Flowers
- Chamomile
- Lemon Verbena
- Lime Flower
- Elderflower
These teas can all be seen on our page Iced Teas Good Chilled.