Iced Tea Recipe (Extra Easy) (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to iced tea to make it taste better? ›

Spices, Herbs & Fruit Juice: The ultimate natural sweeteners. Some herbs and spices (cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cardamom, nutmeg, clove, lemongrass) can add a subtle sweetness to black tea, but they might overpower green tea. Add them while the tea is hot or warm, in order to release the natural oils.

Once you've brewed your ice-tea a dash of baking soda helps to neutralize the tannin content, offering a smoother taste, and reducing that murky appearance. The tannin content is high in black tea and green tea, so be sure to add baking soda if you're using these types of tea.

If you're going the sweet tea route (which is highly recommended), you'll want some sweetener. Since the tea won't be hot, you won't be able to dissolve sugar directly into it. Instead, make a simple syrup of equal parts sugar and water to add to the tea once you're ready to serve.

Iced tea can be made out of regular tea bags and loose leaf tea, or large tea bags made specifically for pitchers of iced tea. Black tea is commonly used for iced tea, but white tea, green tea, and oolong tea also work particularly well over ice without losing flavor integrity or aroma.

Since the water is cold, the steeping process is a little different as well, with steeping times recommended at 10 minutes and also agitating the tea bag in the cold water to help the infusion of the tea and other added benefits such as vitamins.

Do you know the difference between ICED tea and ICE tea? Iced tea refers to hot tea that has been poured over ice. Ice tea is tea that has either been brewed cold or has been cooled down before serving.

Comparing those two brewing methods, it comes down to one big difference: you can either brew tea leaves with hot water and then let them cool down on ice cubes, or you can brew it with cold water and let them steep for some hours. So the difference between iced tea and cold brew is the water temperature while brewing.

Why do people put lemon in iced tea? ›

Combining lemon and tea creates a popular drink with many potential health benefits. It's a perfect combination of antioxidants, essential minerals, and vitamins in one delicious cup. And the best part is that lemon tea is a refreshing, low-calorie, tangy beverage that you can drink hot or cold.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a natural substance that neutralizes acids and bases. When used in your toilet tank, it eliminates odors by balancing the pH level. In addition, its mild abrasive nature helps scrub away stains without damaging the tank's surface.

Over-steeping causes tea to turn bitter

Over-steeping tea means that you let it soak in the water for too long.

Adding a little baking soda to your tea will clear away any cloudiness left from the mixing process, and it's also thought to cut down on any lingering bitter tastes from the steeping tea bags, leaving your tea clarified and smooth and providing your get-together with one fantastic pitcher of tea.

Adding Lemon & Lemongrass

Lemon has been considered the most widely used condiment that may add a whole new flavor to your tea. Especially, for over-brewed green teas and other types of herbal teas. Lemongrass adds a totally different freshness and flavor to your tea that makes it both smell and taste better.

Stevia. Stevia, a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant of South America, offers a calorie-free way to sweeten your tea. It's significantly sweeter than refined sugar, meaning that a little goes a long way.