Tips For Making Sun Tea
Depending on upbringing, tea can mean different things to different people, explained Ackerman, and there are many different ways to make it One amazing and overlooked way of making tea is by using the actual sun. Yes, sun tea, she said. This method of tea brewing is relatively easy, assuming that enough time is given to make it and that the sun is out.
The Lipton or Luzianne black teas are Ackermans go-tos for making sun tea, but it is ultimately up to personal preference. Just remember that black, caffeinated tea works the best, she noted. After you select your favorite store-bought tea bags, she explained that all you need is a large mason jar. After you have that, do the following:
The sun will give you the best tea, she said, and when you are ready to serve it, just pour and add ice.
Jessica Formicola of Savory Experiments grew up with her mom using this method of letting the sun do the work of heating the tea. I vividly remember that large glass container bathing in sunlight on our patio, but this doesn’t give enough heat to really allow the tea to fully bloom, she noted. You’ll end up needing to add a lot more, like sugar or lemon, to get a full-bodied flavor. To prevent this, she suggested you start with hot water but not boiling to get the maximum flavor.
Delicious Iced Tea Add
Honey Instead of grainy sugar, choose a smooth and natural sweetener like honey
Simple Syrup If you dont want the sugar to sink at the bottom of the glass, use simple syrup instead
Lemon Squeezing some lemon juice over or adding fresh lemon slices can add a refreshing kick to your tea
Lemonade Also known as half-and-half or Arnold Palmer, lemonade and iced tea match perfectly
Berries A colorful and tasty fruity taste boost
Herbs Want to up the freshness? Just add a few mint leaves, some lavender, or rosemary sprigs to your tea
Frozen Fruit Extra chilly and extra fruity, frozen chunks of fruit such as mango, melon, pineapple, peaches can really transform the taste
Extracts Vanilla is not the only extract for tea. You can also choose rum, almond, coconut, or even a fruity flavor
Coconut Milk Nutty, creamy, and naturally sweet, coconut milk is an excellent addition to any kind of tea
Spirits Yup! Add some booze to the mix and make it a real party, people. Gin, rum, and bourbon are some great boozy add-ons
If You Drink Instant Iced Tea Every Day You May Not Actually Be Getting The Antioxidants You Think
Powdered instant iced tea mixes are convenient, but they aren’t anywhere near as healthy as iced tea made from regular tea bags.
Instant iced tea is highly processed. These mixes are created using spent tea leaves, tea wastes, or fermented leaves. The liquid is concentrated under low pressure and then dried into a powder by freeze-drying or spray-drying. All that processing means that instant iced tea loses more than 90 percent of its original antioxidants, and some contain none at all.
Bottled and canned green iced teas also pale in comparison to their freshly brewed counterparts. According to a 2001 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, these commercially produced beverages contained few of the catechins found in green tea. As explained by WebMD, catechins are flavonoids substances found in plants with strong antioxidant and disease-fighting properties.
It’s cheap and easy to make iced tea at home, so brew your own if you want to reap all the health benefits when you drink iced tea every day.
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If You Drink Iced Tea Every Day It Can Help You Stay Hydrated
Getting enough water does more than simply quench your thirst. Staying properly hydrated helps deliver nutrients to cells, maintain body temperature, fight infection, lubricate joints, and boost your mood, among other things. That’s not surprising, considering about 60 percent of the human body is actually water.
The Mayo Clinic recommends adult women get about 11.5 cups of water a day, while adult men should aim for 15.5 cups . Luckily, this doesn’t all have to come from plain water.
According to Dr. Chris Norris at Sleep Standards, iced tea is a great option. He told The List. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s herbal, black, green or chamomile hot or cold tea is just about as hydrating as water.” A 2011 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition came to the same conclusion. The researchers noted that, although the caffeine in black tea has often been considered dehydrating, their findings indicated that tea and plain water were almost identical in their ability to provide hydration. So, if you want to hydrate, you can drink iced tea every day, though water is presumably the better option.
If You’re Concerned About Bone Health You May Not Want To Drink Iced Tea Every Day
Want to maintain strong, healthy bones into old age? You might need to swap your daily iced tea for a glass of milk.That’s because iced tea may actually interfere with your body’s ability to absorb bone-building calcium. Nutritionist Lisa Richards told The List, “Many iced teas are made from black tea leaves, which have been linked to poor calcium metabolism. Studies have also shown calcium loss through urine and a decrease of absorption in the body.” According to Richards, this decrease in calcium can create issues for bone health later in life, potentially leading to weakened bones and osteoporosis.
According to the American Osteoporosis Foundation, 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 44 million have low bone density. One in two women will break a bone at some point in their life because of osteoporosis.
But if you really don’t want to give up drinking iced tea every day, there are ways to counteract its negative effects on calcium absorption. Richards suggests, “To counteract this effect, you can opt to consume calcium at separate times as iced tea or through supplementation.”
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Iced Tea Helps Stabilize Blood Sugar
Good news for diabetics and anyone else looking to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Unsweetened iced tea can help stabilize blood sugar levels.
According to a Japanese study, people who consume up to 6 cups of green tea a day showed a 33 percent reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who had less than one cup per week.
The flavonoids and phytochemicals present in tea, both black and green, help stabilize blood sugar levels.
Polyphenols, commonly found in teas, help diabetics by increasing insulin activity and keeping blood sugar levels in check.
Iced Tea Helps Boost Heart Health
Unsweetened iced tea contains antioxidants called flavonoids, which play a vital role in protecting the heart from contracting a number of diseases and keeps your heart healthy and in good shape.
Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory antioxidants that are effective against cardiovascular diseases. They do so by protecting the vessels and arteries of the heart from inflammation and hardening.
According to a study, people who consume one to three cups of green tea daily showed a reduction in the risk of heart attack by 20 percent and a 35 percent reduction in the risk of stroke.
Daily black tea consumption is shown to lower the risk of heart attack and prevent hardening of arteries.
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How To Make Iced Tea: Basic Steps
The hands-on time for making iced tea is quick: most of the time involved is waiting! Making the tea takes about 20 minutes total. Then youll need 2 hours for it to chill. Here are the basic steps of how to make iced tea at home:
- Steep the tea: Bring 4 cups water to a simmer, add 6 tea bags and turn off the heat. Steep for 5 minutes.
- Add cold water and cool: Remove the tea bags. Add 4 cups cool water and bring to room temperature .
- Refrigerate 2 hours: Transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate 2 hours.
Iced Tea Is Rich In Antioxidants
Another reason to enjoy unsweetened iced tea, be it black tea or green tea, is that it has a high antioxidant content. Antioxidants are powerful compounds that provide protection from cellular damage.
They do so by countering free radicals that are harmful compounds responsible for cellular damage and chronic disease. Research reveals that there are about eight to 10 times more polyphenols in tea than there are in fruits and vegetables.
According to the Harvard Health Publications, antioxidants found in green tea are effective in providing protection against several different types of cancers. These chemo-preventive antioxidants are also good for your skin. They help maintain youthful skin by slowing down the aging process.
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When You Drink Iced Tea Every Day You Could Lose Weight
When it comes to the health benefits of iced tea, researchers usually focus on black tea. But one type of herbal tea may actually be more helpful when it comes to losing weight.
A 2018 study published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology found that drinking herbal tea made from yerba mate, a plant native to South America , encouraged fat oxidation. Kathryn Schwab, a health and wellness researcher at Tons of Goodness, explained, ” are in a constant state of turnover, meaning that fat is continuously entering or exiting the cell … Fatty acids released into the bloodstream can then be burned for energy. When fat is oxidized, this results in weight loss.” Interestingly, the 2018 study found that iced yerba mate was more effective at fat oxidation than hot yerba mate.
If you’re one of the 56.4 percent of American women trying to lose weight, you may want to swap out your regular iced black tea for an iced yerba mate.
Employ A Hybrid Brewing Method
Iced tea can be brewed using either cold or boiling water. In a side-by-side comparison, a cold-water, 24-hour infusion tasted flat. Thats because a number of the compounds that give tea balanced astringency and bitterness are extracted more effectively in hot water than in cold water . But iced tea brewed for 4 minutes in water that had been brought to a boil lacked sufficient intensity. Making the tea stronger by brewing longer in hot water only made the tea overly bitter and mouth-drying. Increasing the amount of tea worked, but I ultimately came up with a thrifty method that produced the same great flavor without extra tea:
- First, steep the tea in 3 cups of water that has been brought to a boil for 4 minutes.
- Then add 1 cup of ice water and continue to steep for 1 hour. At the cooler temperature, full-flavored aromatic compounds continue to infuse the water and the bitter and astringent ones do not.
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Long Island Iced Teas You Should Know How To Make
Ahhhh, the Long Island Iced Tea.
As long as people have enjoyed vomiting in the bushes outside their neighborhood watering hole, theyve enjoyed sucking down Long Island Iced Teas.
Just ordering a Long Island sort of defines your night right from the start and makes a declaration to everyone around you: Im going to go from zero to humiliating just as quickly as I can.
Now, if you think people get excited by the Long Island, wait until you offer them a spin-off of the original and watch them jump around like a chimpanzee who got stung by a bee. Ive been serving these variations for years, and if you want to be loved as a bartender, learn to diversify your Long Islands and watch them clutch at their drink excitedly like a child clutches an Otter Pop on a hot summer day.
If youre not a bartender yet, and you want to learn how, you can check out TheRealBarCourse here, even if you have no experience or have no idea where to start.
But enough of that. What kind of teacher would I be if I didnt educate you on the beginnings of the Long Island and where it came from?
HISTORY OF THE LONG ISLAND
As with practically every cocktail with some time under its belt, the Long Island comes with debatable and uncertain beginnings. At first glance it appears as if it might have been inspired by the fruitcake: just throw anything you have in your cupboards into a container, mix it up and then ask yourself why in the hell you would ever ingest such a thing.
Whats up with that, Bob?
What Can You Add To Iced Tea
Add any juice of your preference . At this point you can add ice and keep in the refrigerator. This is the way I make it 98% of the time but when Im making iced tea for an event or for guests, I like to add fresh fruit. The fruit adds flavor but also makes the ice tea so pretty. Sliced peaches/nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate and lemon are all great additions. Herbs are also great and mint, rosemary, lavender, thyme and basil will all be delicious.
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How To Make Homemade Iced Tea
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It is so easy to make homemade iced tea I can’t believe that I don’t do it more often.
Now that summer is here, a refreshing glass of iced tea really hits the spot. But buying ready made iced tea to drink at home can get expensive. And why use more disposable bottles and containers than you need to?
A box of your favorite tea bags is very economical, and with a little planning you can always have freshly brewed iced tea on hand for your family.
Here’s a little hint you can certainly serve your homemade iced tea in your favorite pitcher, but I like to pour and store single servings into mason jars.
I just fill them three quarters of the way up , add a slice of lemon, close them with a lid, and put them in the fridge.
When someone is thirsty, they open the jar, add some ice and they are good to go.
How To Sweeten And Flavor Your Iced Tea
Unsweetened tea is a favorite for some, but others find a touch of sweetener creates an irresistible drink. If you want to sweeten your tea, know that sugar and honey don’t dissolve in cold liquids. Stir them in while the tea mixture is still hot, or make a simple syrup by simmering one part of either with one part water in a saucepan until dissolved, then cool the syrup and stir it directly into already chilled iced tea. Other sweeteners like maple syrup, agave, and superfine sugar dissolve right into the cold beverage.
Don’t just stop at the brewed tea! Customize an extra refreshing glass by stirring in fresh summer flavors. Skip the sweetener and combine the tea with sweet and tart fruit juices like lemonade to make a classic drink called the Arnold Palmer or pomegranate juice which adds a bright pop of color. Stir fresh sprigs of herbs such as mint, basil, thyme, or rosemary into the tea and steep in the refrigerator or add the sprigs to each glass as a beautiful garnish. Fresh fruit can also be steeped in the tea like sangria, stirred into individual glasses, or added as a colorful garnish. Strawberries, cherries, peaches, watermelon, pineapple, or citrus wedges are all fantastic options.
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How To Make Ice Tea
There are tons of different ways to make iced tea, from using cold brew tea bags, loose leaf tea, setting it out in the sun for sun tea, and pouring hot water over the tea bags, among others. I prefer using the hot water method because it is quick and efficient. That being said, theres no wrong way to make iced tea using the recipes Ive shared below.
For storage, I like keeping my iced teas in 1 quart mason jars in the fridge not only are they pretty, but theyre easy to grab and perfect for both the hot water and then the cold drink. Remember not to store the teas for too long with the tea bags in the water the longer the tea bag is in the water after it has steeped, the stronger the flavor your tea will have, eventually turning into an overly bitter flavor. After I let the teas steep in the hot water, I remove and discard the tea bags, but keep the fresh fruit and herbs in the mason jars. This works great with fresh fruit, but the herbs do need to be removed within a few hours, or they start to deteriorate.
What You Need To Make Homemade Iced Tea
I’ll call this version of my homemade iced tea recipe the make ahead method.
Use this recipe to make a big batch of iced tea the day before you need it.
Start with teabags that make a good, bold tea. I like these British Blend teabags for their robust flavor.
If you like sweet tea, make sure you have your preferred sweetener on hand. I use regular granulated sugar, nothing fancy. But you can use honey, Splenda, Agave whatever you like.
To infuse a little flavor into your homemade iced tea be sure to slice up some fresh fruit as well.
Traditionally, iced tea tastes great with some fresh lemon slices. But you can add peach, lime, mango whatever you like.
Oh yes and if you are wondering about that gorgeous walnut cutting board in the background it’s this one from Virginia Boys Kitchens.
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