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Your first thought on how to make iced tea might be to brew the tea as normal and let it get cold in the refrigerator. That means having to wait a long time before you drink the iced tea. By creating a super concentrated tea infusion and combining it with cold water, you will make iced tea that you'll be enjoying in just minutes! Sweeten it with simple syrup and serve it over ice for a refreshing, almost-instant iced tea beverage.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (710 ml) of cold water
- 1 cup (240 ml) of freshly boiled hot water
- 4 teabags or 4 tsp (3 g) of loose leaf tea
Makes 4 cups (950 ml) of iced tea
- 1 cup (240 ml) of water
- 1 cup (240 ml) of white granulated sugar
Makes about 1 1⁄2 cups (350 ml) of simple syrup
Steps
Brewing Iced Tea
-
1Fill a pitcher with 3 cups (710 ml) of cold water. Get a pitcher big enough to hold at least 4 cups (950 ml) of liquid. Fill it with 3 cups (710 ml) of cold tap water or filtered water.[1]
- You can put the pitcher of water in the fridge while you prepare the tea to chill the water more.
-
2Fill a heat-proof glass with 1 cup (240 ml) of freshly boiled hot water. Boil 1 cup (240 ml) of water in a kettle on the stovetop over high heat. Pour it carefully into a heat-proof glass.[2]
- Make sure the glass you use is big enough to hold all of the water, and still has space for the tea.
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3Put 4 teabags or 4 tsp (3 g) of loose leaf tea in the hot water for 3-5 minutes. Steep all of the tea at the same time in the mug of water until you have a glass with very strong tea. Let green tea steep for 3 minutes, and let black tea steep for 5 minutes.[3]
- If you use any other type of tea besides green or black tea, let it steep for 5 minutes.
- Make sure not to over-steep the tea or it can end up tasting bitter.
-
4Slowly pour the hot tea you made into the pitcher of cold water. Remove the tea bags or strain out the loose leaf tea from the hot water after they are done steeping. Pour the hot tea into the cold water and be careful not to spill or burn yourself.[4]
- If you use loose leaf tea, you can just place a small strainer over the pitcher of cold water and carefully pour the tea through it to filter out the leaves.
-
5Sweeten your iced tea with simple syrup to taste. Stir in about 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) of homemade simple syrup to start, then taste the iced tea. Add more until your tea is as sweet as you like it.[5]
- Try making flavored iced tea by adding 4 US tbsp (59 ml) of lemon juice or 1-2 chopped peaches.[6]
- You can also sweeten your tea with honey to taste.
-
6Serve the tea in glasses over ice for you and your guests. Fill glasses with ice and pour the tea mixture over the ice slowly. Drink it as soon as possible before the ice totally melts and dilutes the tea.[7]
- You can garnish the glasses with sprigs of mint and put out a dish of simple syrup in case anyone wants to make their iced tea sweeter.
Making Simple Syrup
-
1Bring 2 cups (470 ml) of water to a boil in a saucepan. Place the saucepan with water on the stove over high heat. It will come to a boil in about 2 minutes.[8]
- Increase the amount of water to make bigger batches. Make sure to increase the sugar in the recipe equally.
- Water takes about 2 minutes to boil for every 2 cups (470 ml) of water.
-
2Stir in 2 cups (470 ml) of white sugar to the boiling water. Gently stir the water with a whisk and pour in all of the sugar slowly. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- You can add 1 tsp (4.9 ml) of any liquid flavoring extract to create a flavored simple syrup.[9]
-
3Remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Turn off the stove and place the saucepan on a cool burner. Let it sit until it is fully cooled, then transfer it to a clean glass container.[10]
- You can store simple syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Warnings
- Be careful with hot water.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Make sure to pour the cold water in the pitcher first. If you pour in cold water after hot water, it can cause the pitcher to crack.⧼thumbs_response⧽
Things You'll Need
Brewing Iced Tea
- Heat-proof glass
- Pitcher
- Kettle
- Glasses with ice for serving
Making Simple Syrup
- Saucepan
- Glass container
- Whisk
References
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ http://howto.yellow.co.nz/food-drink/non-alcoholic-drinks-and-beverages/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ http://howto.yellow.co.nz/food-drink/non-alcoholic-drinks-and-beverages/how-to-make-iced-tea/
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20216/simple-syrup/
- ↑ https://www.arborteas.com/how-to-make-iced-tea/
About This Article
To make iced tea you can drink immediately, start by filling a pitcher with 3 cups of cold water and placing it in the fridge. Then, bring 1 cup of water to a boil, and pour it into a heat-proof glass with 4 tea bags. Next, steep the tea for 3-5 minutes before pouring it into the pitcher of cold water. Finally, sweeten your iced tea with honey or simple syrup and enjoy. To learn how to make your own simple syrup, scroll down!
