Blue Long Island Iced Tea Recipe
Who would have imagined that wed still be ordering and drinking a 80-year-old cocktail with such a wacky recipe? The Long Island Iced Tea is legendary. I mean, I dont know any other cocktail calling for vodka, tequila, white rum, gin and orange liqueur!The Long Island Iced Tea as we know it was created in the 1940s and gained immense popularity during the 70s. After that, it kind of faded away to allow more modern libations to shine. Today, the Long Island Iced Tea is back, and its best version is blue.
How To Cold Brew Tea
To make cold brew iced tea you only need tea, cold water and time. Thats it.
Whats more, not only is the cold brew method super simple, but it produces more balanced flavors compared to brewing hot tea.
I promise you, once you steep tea in cold water, youll never turn back to the old way of brewing iced tea.
Literally, the only downside I can think of for brewing tea in cold water is that you have to plan ahead.
This is because it takes at least 8-12 hours to steep tea in cold water.
Personally, I dont find the steeping time to be a drawback, however, since I toss my cold brew tea in the fridge before going to bed and strain it when I wake up. The strained tea keeps well in the fridge for several days.
All in all, the process of making cold brew iced tea is effortless and produces the best tasting iced tea hands down.
Brew At The Right Temperatures
Stronger teas such as oolong teas and black teas should be brewed under higher temperatures to ensure they extract all the flavors and content right. Therefore, by brewing them using boiling water, they will extract all the content.
However, lighter teas such as white tea, fruit-mixed teas, and green tea, only need hot water for them to steep right. Using boiling water for these teas will make the flavor overly intense, and they will be bitter.
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Difference Between Iced Tea And Cold Brew
Before I show you how to make cold brew tea, let me explain how its different from iced tea.
Iced tea is made using a traditional hot brew method. The tea is poured over ice to create summers favorite drink.
On the other hand, cold brew tea is brewed with cold water. It can be poured over ice to create an iced tea drink, as well. Therefore, the main difference between iced tea and cold brew tea is the brewing technique .
Tea And Whiskey Highball
Chowhound
This cocktail lets you play with the qualities of different teas and different whiskeys. For something smoky and mysterious, try pine-smoked lapsang souchong and a single malt scotch. Or for something sweet and distinctively Southern, go for a classic black tea and bourbon whiskey. Get our Tea and Whiskey Highball recipe.
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Brewing Mediterranean Mint & Tahitian Green
How To Make Iced Tea With Tea Bags: 5 Easy Methods
Nothing helps cool off a sweltering day in the middle of a hot summer quite like a tall glass of refreshing iced tea. Whether you prefer creamy iced tea with hints of vanilla or tangy brews enhanced by tart lemons, iced tea is an easy-to-brew beverage that brightens up any tea party or backyard barbecue.
Brewing iced tea with tea bags is not only a simple method, but also one that allows extreme versatility when it comes to flavors. You can create fruity iced teas that complement décor at a fancy brunch, blend sweet teas that pair perfectly with savory Southern dishes or make creamy, vanilla-infused teas that are smooth and delicious. Find out how to choose the right tea bags and make delectable iced tea that cools and refreshes.
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Learn To Make It Right
This is the practical part of making iced tea.
Here is the general procedure
- Pour hot water over your tea bags in a teapot
- Add a sweetener into your teapot so that it can dissolve together with your tea
- Allow the tea bag to steep, then leave it to cool at room temperature
- After it has cooled down, pour a few ice cubes in the tea. Dot add ice to hot teas as that will dilute the flavor. Refrigerating hot tea causes cloudiness in your tea.
To make your iced tea more special and flavorful, here are three different ways to make iced tea
How To Make Cold Brew Iced Tea At Home
Cold brew Iced tea is renowned as the most popular tea in the world. The reason behind its popularity is the refreshing effect and smooth taste that cant be enjoyed from other traditional teas.
Most people find it easy to store it in the fridge and use it after few days. Just be sure, youre not going to store for several weeks as itll diminish the flavor of your cup of iced tea.
Instant homemade iced tea brings a sense of pleasure and feels comfortable especially in hot weather. Any other traditional teas cant beat the clean, light and smooth taste of this delicious tea.
Do you ever think about it? How cold brewing gives smooth, delicious, and refreshing taste more than hot brew tea? Let me clear it for your confusion.
The heating process makes your tea tannic and bitter in flavor, also in coffees. While no heating enhances the flavor of your cup of tea. You can brew it easily in just a few minutes.
Because of this, Ill suggest using this refreshing tea in the summer season making memorable days with your loved ones.
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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
How To Make Fast And Easy Iced Tea
There are hundreds of iced tea variations, but whether you prefer to cool off with a creamy, fruity, or zesty chilled beverage, this article will definitely satisfy.
Check out our top four ways to make homemade iced tea with tea bags, and feel the heatwave disappear with each sip.
Once you learn how simple iced-tea making is, you will never buy the store-bought kind ever again!
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Benefits Of Making Tea With Cold Water
If youre new to making cold brew iced tea, you probably have a few questions. For example, you may be wondering why so many people, including myself, say that cold brew tea is the best way to make iced tea.
Additionally, you may be wondering the benefits of cold brew tea.
In a nutshell, cold brewing tea is the perfect technique since the steps are foolproof, the flavor is smooth and complex, and the process may improve some nutritional benefits.
Ingredients For Thai Iced Tea
- Boiling water
- Black tea bags or loose tea leaves for the equivalent amount
- Coconut milk
- Ground cinnamon
Many versions of Thai Iced Tea call for mixing the tea with sweetened condensed milk. While this does taste amazing, Ive found that I prefer using coconut milk! Coconut milk has so many health benefits its a healthy fat, it contains antioxidants, and some even claim it helps to keep your hair and skin looking great. Aside from all those great things, I just think it tastes GREAT, especially when mixed into some yummy Thai milk tea!
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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.
Perfect Glass Of Iced Tea Brewing Techniques
There are so many ways to brew delicious iced tea beyond the hot water method.
Theres no best waywhether you love hot brew or cold brew tea, youre sure to find one of these methods that makes the best iced tea.
Each of these brewing iced tea approaches is worth trying as they offer a subtle difference in taste.
Once youve tried these brewing methods, youll find preparing iced tea is simple and the rewards are absolutely delicious.
All of these techniques can be used for the health benefits of tea, like healing or just for enjoying how refreshing tea tastes.
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Cold Brew Iced Tea Drink Ideas
If you made ready to drink cold brew tea add sweetener if desired and pour over ice. Simple syrup is ideal since its already dissolved.
Heres an idea. If you made multiple flavors like a fruity herb tea and green tea, mix them together and pour over ice.
If you made cold brew tea concentrate, the combination of drinks you can make are as limited as your imagination.
You can even look at the Starbucks iced tea menu to see their lineup of delicious iced tea drink combinations.
For instance, they combine tea concentrate with another drink like lemonade or peach juice to create a thirst-quenching iced tea. Here you can see my Starbucks copycat recipe for Iced Green Tea Lemonade.
Furthermore, cold brew tea concentrate is ideal for making iced tea lattes. As a matter of fact, I cold brew English Breakfast tea to make an Iced Caramel English Breakfast Tea Latte. Yum!
And heres my recipe for a decadent Iced London Fog Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream, made with cold brew earl grey tea.
Finally, to make regular iced tea using concentrate just add fresh water or even seltzer water to make it a little fizzy.
Gives A Better Choice To Eat Fewer Carbs
Diet soft drink might seem like the answer for your sweet longings yet the counterfeit sugar in it can hurt your body severally. Add to that the zero healthy benefit diet soft drink offers. Despite what might be expected, iced tea is a force to be reckoned with of supplements and when burned-through unsweetened, it holds your calorie consumption under check. A glass of iced tea keeps you more full for long and keeps cravings for food under control.
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Make A Lively Infusion
I found that 1½ tablespoons of black tea per quart of water produced a vibrant yet not overly strong brew. If using green tea, which is generally subtler, increase the amount to 2 tablespoons.
Tea removed from individual bags is steeped alongside an equal amount of loose-leaf tea so that the flavor and strength of each type can be evaluated.
Tip To Make Your Iced Tea
Whenever wanted, you can likewise put the tea packs straightforwardly inside the carafe. Run nothing through the channel bushel except the heated water. After the water gets through the framework, permit the teabags to soak for around five minutes before disposing of it. Take care not to over-mix the tea, as this can cause an acidic taste.
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How To Flavour Iced Tea
Herbs
A simple but effective way to add extra aromatics to your iced tea. Herbs that work well include mint, basil and lemon thyme. You could also try kaffir lime leaves. Just avoid herbs that are solely savoury, such as coriander and chives.
Elderflower
A fresh sprig of elderflower can pep up a simple iced tea. Submerge a large handful into your iced tea and leave it to infuse as the tea cools down. Alternatively, add a good glug of elderflower cordial to the tea before you add any sweetener.
Fruits
Sliced peaches and apricots, fresh berries and citrus fruits all compliment tea well. You could also add chopped cucumber for a refreshing taste.
Alcohol
For an adults-only version of iced tea, add some shots of your choice of alcohol. A spiced rum, Pimms or gin would all work well. Simply add to your iced tea after its been chilled.
Dispense Tea Over Ice
Fill your favourite 16 oz mug with ice, rest the Steeper right on top and watch as your infused tea pours out like magic through the easy-release valve. The filter will strain your tea directly into your ice-filled cup while keeping the tea leaves in the infuser. And when youre done, the valve closes automatically.
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Place 5 Tablespoons Loose Tea Or 10 Teabags In A Glass Or Plastic 4
I usually do a mix of half black tea and half herbal tea, but you can mix and match any way you please. The herbal tea could be fruity or it could be nutty, or you could throw some green tea into the mix instead ofor in addition tothe black tea. When choosing flavored or fruit-infused teas, just think about what flavors you think taste great together in a pie or a punch: how about a few scoops of mango tea, a few of cherry, and a few of black? Or a combo of peach, raspberry, and green tea? Mint tea is always a great addition, too. Really, anything goesif you like it, it will probably be delicious. Martha is right about one thing though: avoid anything smoky or too overpowering.
Anything Else To Keep In Mind
- Don’t toss those leaves after your first batch of cold brew. You can reuse them at least once , though steep them for a few additional hours and expect a lighter flavor.
- Do refrigerate your tea to prevent against any not-so-friendly bacteria. It can be easy to forget that tea leaves are perishable produce.
Now that you know how to cold brew, there’s no need for any iffiness or guesswork. And just think: The hottest days of summerbut also the most deserved glasses of reinvigorating teaare still ahead of you!
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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.
Learn To Balance Tea And Water
You dont want to use too much tea as the flavor will be overly intense, and you dont want to use too much water as your tea flavor will be flat. In most cases 1 ½ 2 teabag of tea per cup for larger tea leaves such as green, chamomile, and white tea is enough, and only 1 teabag per a cup of tea with more intense flavors such as black tea will taste right.
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