HOW TO MAKE ICED TEA
Outside of water, one of my favorite things to drink is ice tea... Sweet tea to be exact.
There's really nothing better than a ice cold glass of strongly brewed, sugary sweet ice tea. But what happens when you don't know how to make ice tea properly? Believe it or not there are people out there who don't know how to make ice tea! So in this quick & fab how to, let’s discover some basic ice tea principles!
Fab Tea's of your Choice: Tea comes in all different types of flavors, sizes, and colors. Powder ice tea mixes are packed with sugary calories and that’s not a way to drink fabulously. Making ice tea is refreshingly better when you use the freshest tea possible. Whether using large tea bags or steeping loose tea, this is the best way to get all those rich antioxidants tea has to offer.
Temperature Control: Tea, like a lot of things needs specific temperatures to be it’s best. For denser, more compact teas, like black tea, herbal or darker colored teas, boiling water is ideal. Tea's lighter in color and with larger leaves, like green, white, and oolong tea for example work best in cooler water, just under the boiling point. Brewing tea that needs cooler temps in boiling hot water can result in bitter tasting tea. That’s not fab. For darker teas, steep for 3-5 minutes, and for lighter teas, steep 2-3 minutes. If time is of the essence, you can brew a fab pitcher of tea at double strength, and then allow ice cubes to water it down later.
Fab Additions: I personally love only sugar or simple syrup in my ice tea, but there are so many things you can add into your brewed tea to make it fab. Try flavored simple syrups or flavored sugars, fruit, mint, or spices (think iced chai) to make your pitcher a little more fabulous.
