On Iced Tea: Tips for Quick Iced Tea

When I was growing up, the process of making iced tea took ALL DAY. First, you had to make sure there was a Becel container full of water in the freezer, preferrably frozen. Then, that there was a clean ice cream pail. The big ones, not the little ones. Then, there was the whole process of boiling the water, pouring it over tea bags, letting that steep for HOURS..... And then you had to mix the tea with the ice and let THAT sit for hours... Anyway, it meant not being able to actually ENJOY a cup of tea for a LONG TIME. Also, it meant that if someone put in too much lemon or sugar, or didn't let the tea steep long enough, you had a whole pail of Not Right Tea.

David's Tea kind of revolutionized the way I make iced tea. See, they have this funny little trick of steeping double-strong tea for the NORMAL length of steep time, and then pouring the steeped tea over ICE. I know this shouldn't seem revolutionary, but they have changed the way I do iced tea.

Want raspberry iced tea? No problem! Give me 8 minutes. You like lemon in your tea? Super! 8 minutes. You want a fruit-tea-but-not-black-tea-I-hate-black-tea-oh-and-no-chocolate-either iced tea? 8 minutes. (Give or take the steep time of the tea.)

Hooray, David's Tea, you have made my life INFINITELY better with this trick.

So here's how it goes:
- Put your kettle of water on to boil.
- Pick your tea. Make sure you have enough to make it double-strong (if you're using tea bags, have 2 tea bags; if you're using loose leaf tea, make sure you've got two scoops worth, rather than just one).
- Put the teabags into a cup to steep, or put your looseleaf tea into a steeper.
**Steph's note** You don't HAVE to have a steeper, but it really does make your life a whole lot easier for this iced tea process. You only end up dirtying one cup that way, whereas if you don't have a steeper, you may end up dirtying two.
- Let the tea steep for its required length of time, or until it is sufficiently strong enough for your liking. Keep in mind you want it double-strong. While the tea is steeping, fill a cup 3/4 full with ice (I tend to use plastic cups or travel mugs, or even wide-mouthed Nalgene water bottles - BPA free, of course). If you are using sugar to sweeten, I would also put the sugar in the steeping tea and make sure it's dissolved at this point.
- Pour your steeped tea over the ice. If you have a lid for your cup (travel mug, water bottle) put the lid on and shake lightly until the ice is gone. IF you don't have a lid for your cup, stirring lightly with a spoon (or chopstick) will sufficiently agitate the ice. If you are using agave nectar to sweeten, it may be added at this stage.
- Fill the cup up with cold water
- ENJOY ICED TEA!!!


Now, keep in mind I have not attempted this process pouring hot tea into a cup made of glass. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I remember that cold glass made hot very quickly will cause the glass to crack. I MAY BE WRONG. But that's how my brain works. I really didn't want tea all over the floor, mixed in with shards of glass. That's why I tend to prefer plastic cups or metal travel mugs.

David's Tea sells an iced tea mug made especially for this purpose. As someone who drinks an infinite amount of iced tea in a summer, I figured this would be a worth-while investment, and INDEED! it has been!
(EDIT: David's Tea redid their website, so I can't link from the site. But here's a pic from somebody's blog. Thanks, somebody!!)

They also sell a "Flash Chill Maker," which basically goes through the entire process making a large quantity of iced tea, rather than a glass at a time.

.... Funny, this blog seems to have been turned into advertising for David's Tea..... *facepalm* Sorry. It's where I do the majority of my tea shopping, where I get my supplies from, so it's what I"m familiar with.

Iced tea really is the best thing ever.