Making Delicious Iced Tea

It quickly became a drink for all types of weather. It was so refreshing that people realized you could enjoy tea served cold instead of the common hot methods. Louis expo. A tea merchant by the name of Richard Blechynden decided to serve tea over some ice during a St.

Iced tea can trace its' roots back to the heat wave in the year 1904. Many people savor drinking iced tea, especially on a warm summer day.
You can drink these either decaffeinated or not for a little boost in energy when you need it. Some of the popular flavors are peach, mango, strawberry, and raspberry iced tea. It is a refreshing drink when the temperatures are rising.

Simply open the bottle and enjoy. Many of the bottled iced teas you purchase already have these in them for extra flavoring. Iced tea can be sweetened by adding sugar.
Sugar and lemon can be alternatively added to sweeten it up even more. It should be refrigerated for six or seven hours, then strained into a second clean container. With this method, a dry tea leaf should be placed in a clean container that has the right amount of cold water.

The first way is called the cold steeping method. If you are more inclined to make your iced tea there are two methods to try.
The second method of making iced tea is the hot steeping method. One favorite way of doing this is to double the amount of dry tea leaves you would typically use for hot tea, infuse it for approximately 5 minutes, and then pour over a full glass of ice. For the optimum results, let the tea cool down before pouring it over the ice. Alternatively you can try to steep it for approximately 5 minutes in hot water, then pour into a container with a matching amount of cold water. This method will dilute the strong tea flavor and help avoid clouding.
Iced tea can be mixed with lemonade or your favorite fruit juices to create a fruity flavored drink. Bear in mind that by doing this you should make sure that the juice does not overwhelm the flavor of the tea, but complement it instead. Experiment with the mixing ratios for the most desired results. Once you get it right you will be enjoying your iced drink while soaking up the warm sun.
James McDonald writes for findteaonline.com, a website where you can find
flavored tea
products and gift ideas. We have a variety of flavors as well as informative articles on many topics related to tea.

The Perfect Pot of Tea

There is, in fact, an art form and a science to bringing the brew to perfection. The perfect pot of tea is far more than just pouring boiling water over some leaves.
The first step is to fill your tea kettle with cold water. Always use fresh water, and don't rely on old water that has stayed in the kettle from the last time. Turn the kettle on to boil. Make sure your kettle is a stainless steel, non-reactive vessel.
While the kettle is heating, fill your clean teapot with hot water. (Since the polyphenols in tea can go rancid if they are left in the pot, making your tea taste bitter, it's important to wash your teapot thoroughly after each use….unless, of course, you're using a Yixing teapot!)
Essentially, you are pre-heating the teapot, a process which helps keep the tea warm and allows the leaves to open fully. Dry the teapot out after it has been warmed with the hot water.
Pick your pleasure and select the tea leaves you are going to use. In general, use 1 teaspoon of loose tea for each cup, placing the leaves into your infuser. If you're making tea for more than six people, add one extra teaspoon of leaves for the pot.
Bring the teapot to the kettle so that heat is not lost, and then pour the boiling water over the tea leaves in the pot. Use the teapot's lid to hold in the steam and properly steep the tea. For black teas, the proper steeping is three to five minutes.
Allowing the tea leaves to steep for more than five minutes, or pressing or squeezing the wet tea leaves can result in a bitter taste because too many of the polyphenols are released. Stick to the time-honored formula of a teaspoon per cup. You can't make a perfect pot of tea by using poor quality leaves and increasing the amount of time it steeps, or by using more tea and steeping it less time.
Herbal tisanes and green teas require five to ten minutes of steeping.
In England, and for many tea lovers, making tea by the cup instead of in the pot - is improper and taboo.
While you may never earn a perfect 10.0 at the Olympics, or find the absolute perfect match-made-in-heaven, it's easy to make the perfect pot of tea.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lady Dawnya Sasse, is author of the world's first online tea business programs entitled "Start a Tea Business" and "Start A Children's Tea Party Business." To learn more about her online classes and to sign up for her FREE Tea Radio Broadcasts visit her site at
http://www.TeaEvents.com
.
This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged.
Copyright 2005 Dawnya Sasse All Rights Reserved. Tea Events

http://www.TeaEvents.com

The Art of Sweet Tea

Outside of the Southern United States, there is nothing more coveted by a Southerner than a good glass of sweet tea. Sweet tea is an art developed over the centuries to comfort the poor sweaty people of the South, despite what you will hear the native English say.
To make a good glass of sweet tea, you must remember four principles:
It must be strong.
It must be sweet.
Sugar does not dissolve in cold water.
Brand matters! Don't use fancy tea bags - Lipton and Tetley make the best tea and can normally be purchased for under a dollar a box.
After that, the rest is easy.
To make the concentrated tea:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Add 4-6 Lipton or Tetley family sized tea bags to the boiling water and reduce the heat.
3. Let the tea bags steep for at least 10 minutes.
4. Remove the tea bags, squeeze them out (but don't break them!) and discard.
5. Add at least 2 cups of sugar to the concentrated tea and stir until it is all dissolved.
6. Turn off the heat and let the tea cool for at least 30 minutes.
To make the sweet tea:
1. Fill a pitcher halfway full with ice.
2. Add the sweet tea concentrate to the halfway point of the pitche
Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water. 3.
Refrigerate until cold. 4.
To dispense the sweet tea:
1. Get a large glass and add ice cubes.
2. Pour the sweet tea into the glass.
3. If you want to be fancy, garnish with a lemon or a sprig of mint. If you are rebellious, garnish with a lime.
In the South, sweet tea is the ultimate equalizer. You can be dirt poor or filthy rich, but if you are in a home in the South, you will probably find a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge. It doesn't matter if it's served from a jug from Mrs. Winner's or from a crystal decanter, it all tastes the same. It's even more popular than The Varsity Restaurant, fried green tomatoes, and fresh vegetables. Sweet tea has made its mark on the world, and no self respecting Southerner can travel without it.

How To Make A Cup Of Tea

Before the British declare war for such sacrilegious treatment of our favourite beverage, I thought it necessary to provide a short instruction on the ancient art of tea making. It has come to my attention that many Americans believe that all tea should be made with ice. English readers, this may shock you.
For those still living in the dark ages a saucepan or a small bowl over a campfire will suffice, but cold water straight from the tap will not. * Boil a kettle full of water.
You can always water it down afterwards. However, make sure you read the packet beforehand and if in doubt make it too strong rather than too weak. Different brands of tea require different amounts of tea leaves for required strengths, but in general it should be one teaspoon for each person drinking and one for the pot. Empty the water out, then place tea leaves into the pot (these can be placed within a tea ball if you have one).

* Pour a little hot water into the teapot (preferably china rather than novelty) to warm it.
Merely leave to brew for between three to five minutes - any shorter and you will not get the flavour, any longer and it will stew. Do not drop the pot or stick it in the microwave. Do not add ice cubes or sugar. * Pour boiling water into the teapot.
It is also an offence to use milk in certain brands of tea, so do remember to check whether your chosen variety is better served with milk or lemon. This is an offence on a line with spitting into the pot, which should also be avoided. Never, ever add it afterwards.

* If you are using milk, pour it (from a china milk jug) into the matching china tea cups first.
* If you had not used a tea ball, you will have to strain the tea before pouring it into the china cups. A tea strainer is similar to a small sieve and does the job easily.
Until the invasion. Wonder out loud if this was really what the Boston Tea Party was all about, then dismiss it as paranoia and get on with your sweet iced-tea drinking lives. Sit back, relax, put on fake British accents and wave your pinkie around wildly, mocking pretentious Englishwomen who do not believe Americans can make tea. * Add sugar as required and stir with your solid silver teaspoons.
Andrea drinks tea, and a lot of it. She actually quite likes Americans, but that doesn't stop her disapproving of their beverage choices.
Andrea is an author on
http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for
Poetry
.