Iced Tea
How cool? Ice cold.
If you love a tall drink of iced tea in the summer (or anytime, for that matter), then this is the place for you. The teas on this page are every bit as good as they are hot—in some cases, even better! If you’re looking for a loose-leaf iced tea that delivers total refreshment, then read on, my friend, read on...
- Prefer a classic citrus iced tea? Try our Citrus Mint Green Tea.
- Like a strong fruity taste in your iced tea? Top picks include Super Fruit Sencha Green Tea, Peach Fuzz White Tea and Orange Creamsicle Black Tea.
- Is tart-sweet your favorite flavor combination? You’ve got to try our Black Currant Hibiscus Fruit Tisane!
- Interested in something more unique? Extend your expectations of iced tea with our White Pear Peony, Orange Sunrise Herbal and Amazonian Very Berry Guayusa.
Iced Tea
The discovery of Iced Tea could be considered as more of a plight from losing profit during America's 1st World Fair. An English Tea plantation owner by the name of Richard Blechynden planned to distribute free samples of his product when a heat wave hit. Naturally, people would be looking for something to refresh themselves and tea was served hot, as far as everybody during that time was concerned. However, this was not the case down South. Out of desperation, Richard Blechynden added a lot of ice to cool the samples down, and thus the first Iced Tea was born. As far as the people down south were concerned, tea was served cold but not iced, especially during the early centuries when refrigeration technology was merely in its infancy.
The original iced (served cold) tea down south was served with sugar to give it some sweetening. It was cold Sweet Tea and is still an enjoyed beverage even up to this point. The development of Iced Tea in the US has branched out to a variety of styles. Some are artificial, mostly sugar and flavoring, while others are the real thing.
The standard tea used for iced tea is black tea. Being a standard made it an overused component. The best thing to do next time is to look for a different kind of tea, one that strays away from the standard. At least that would give the drinker something new. There are many types of teas that can be iced, including herbal, black, oolong, green, and white.
General Steeping Suggestions for Large Batches of Loose-Leaf Iced Tea
We recommend starting out with these instructions and adjusting to your particular taste. For every quart of water, you will want to use 2 tablespoons of tea. For every gallon, you will need 6-8 tablespoons of tea. It’s easiest to first brew a concentrate. Keep in mind each tea has a different steeping time and temperature, so you will want to adhere to those two guidelines for each specific tea. Just make sure the leaves have plenty of room to circulate. Fill your pitcher up with ice, and when your concentrated tea is finished steeping, add it to the ice. Then, simply fill with water to the top. It's that simple. A quick tip for adding real sugar to sweeten it is to add it to the tea while it is being steeped. Sugar has a hard time dissolving in cold water. You want the sugar to distribute evenly and work in harmony with the flavors. Also preparing a simple syrup ahead of time can be very convenient.
With this method, you’re sure to brew up a refreshing loose-leaf iced tea that everyone will enjoy. Check out our unique blends to find the perfect combination of flavors.
How cool? Ice cold.
If you love a tall drink of iced tea in the summer (or anytime, for that matter), then this is the place for you. The teas on this page are every bit as good as they are hot—in some cases, even better! If you’re looking for a loose-leaf iced tea that delivers total refreshment, then read on, my friend, read on...
- Prefer a classic citrus iced tea? Try our Citrus Mint Green Tea.
- Like a strong fruity taste in your iced tea? Top picks include Super Fruit Sencha Green Tea, Peach Fuzz White Tea and Orange Creamsicle Black Tea.
- Is tart-sweet your favorite flavor combination? You’ve got to try our Black Currant Hibiscus Fruit Tisane!
- Interested in something more unique? Extend your expectations of iced tea with our White Pear Peony, Orange Sunrise Herbal and Amazonian Very Berry Guayusa.
Iced Tea
The discovery of Iced Tea could be considered as more of a plight from losing profit during America's 1st World Fair. An English Tea plantation owner by the name of Richard Blechynden planned to distribute free samples of his product when a heat wave hit. Naturally, people would be looking for something to refresh themselves and tea was served hot, as far as everybody during that time was concerned. However, this was not the case down South. Out of desperation, Richard Blechynden added a lot of ice to cool the samples down, and thus the first Iced Tea was born. As far as the people down south were concerned, tea was served cold but not iced, especially during the early centuries when refrigeration technology was merely in its infancy.
The original iced (served cold) tea down south was served with sugar to give it some sweetening. It was cold Sweet Tea and is still an enjoyed beverage even up to this point. The development of Iced Tea in the US has branched out to a variety of styles. Some are artificial, mostly sugar and flavoring, while others are the real thing.
The standard tea used for iced tea is black tea. Being a standard made it an overused component. The best thing to do next time is to look for a different kind of tea, one that strays away from the standard. At least that would give the drinker something new. There are many types of teas that can be iced, including herbal, black, oolong, green, and white.
General Steeping Suggestions for Large Batches of Loose-Leaf Iced Tea
We recommend starting out with these instructions and adjusting to your particular taste. For every quart of water, you will want to use 2 tablespoons of tea. For every gallon, you will need 6-8 tablespoons of tea. It’s easiest to first brew a concentrate. Keep in mind each tea has a different steeping time and temperature, so you will want to adhere to those two guidelines for each specific tea. Just make sure the leaves have plenty of room to circulate. Fill your pitcher up with ice, and when your concentrated tea is finished steeping, add it to the ice. Then, simply fill with water to the top. It's that simple. A quick tip for adding real sugar to sweeten it is to add it to the tea while it is being steeped. Sugar has a hard time dissolving in cold water. You want the sugar to distribute evenly and work in harmony with the flavors. Also preparing a simple syrup ahead of time can be very convenient.
With this method, you’re sure to brew up a refreshing loose-leaf iced tea that everyone will enjoy. Check out our unique blends to find the perfect combination of flavors.