Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ice Tea


Today I experimented further with ice infusions, digging through my tea stash for anything interesting. Making ice tea has been a great way of disposing of less than stellar tea samples or anything I have a bit too much of.

Someone suggested using crushed ice to speed things up. Unfortunately I do not have ready access to crushed ice, but I do have a shovel, a bag of ice, and a bit of pent up angst. Note, if you try this, wrap the bag of ice in a towel to cushion and disperse the impact.

Zhen Qu: Very nice, light, bits of honey and lemon, sweet and refreshing.

Roasted TGY: Roasted Chocolate. This one was all right, but not my favorite.

Milk Oolong: Tasted exactly like it smells, milky sweet and floral.

Kukicha: This one was kind of gross, marine and grassy, not a good grassy--when I was five, I built a home for my Cringer/Battle Cat toy in a bucket filled with water and grass (I know, wtf?) and left him there for a few weeks. I've never forgotten the smell when I went to retrieve him. That kind of grassy.

Tip: Rolled oolong wont unfurl in cold water. For a better infusion try rinsing in boiling water first.
If you think this is starting to sound a bit labor intensive, you're not the only one.

12 comments:

TeaMasters said...

In the summer, I also like ice tea made of Oriental Beauty (also often called White tip Oolong). And I see you have some from the preceding post... maybe something to try!

Brent said...

What a fantastic photo! Thanks for this post, I was curious about what other teas would work. Do you think dian hong would do well made as ice tea?

Brianne said...

Hi! I've never heard of this. How exactly do you do it and what is the desired result?

Space Samurai said...

Thanks Brent. I do think dian hong would work. I tried it the day before though, let it sit in the ice while I went to work, but that was too long; it was rather bitter. I'm going to try again though, and the next time I get my hands on some decent pure gold dian hong, gonna try that, too.

Brianne, the idea is to add ice instead of water to your tea leaves, and let the tea infuse slowly as the ice melts. The cold temperature helps keep the tea from getting bitter. The result is a bit of tea that is very intense and yummy. Brewing the tea this way will sometimes release flavors that you don't always get.

Thanks for the tip Stephane, but at the moment I am all out. I will give it a try next time, though.

Shreyas said...

Thanks for posting about ice tea; I'm definitely going to try this out.

Circalit said...

Thanks for this Brent. I've just tried a new ice tea from a company called Hampstead Tea. Some interesting flavours. I believe they're on their website. http://www.hampsteadtea.com/index.htm

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To Make A Pot of Tulsi Ginger Herbal Tea:
Use one full tablespoon of Tulsi Ginger Herbal Tea per cup. Place the Tulsi Tea Leaves in your teapot, and pour fresh boiling water over the Tulsi Ginger Herbal Tea. Let the tea steep for 5 - 10 minutes, and pour through a small strainer directly into the cup. Use more Tulsi Ginger Herbal Tea for a stronger flavor and less Tulsi Ginger Herbal Tea for a milder flavor, as per your taste.
Please Note: The stronger the tea, the more potent the benefits.
Tulsi makes excellent Iced Tea!
Recipe for 1 Quart of Iced Tea:
Pour 2 cups of boiling water over 8 teaspoons of Tulsi Tea blend, cover and add sweetener if desired. Infuse for 20 minutes. Strain and add 2 cups of cold water, and refrigerate. Pour over ice to serve.
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Cheap Viagra Online said...

Ice tea is something different, actually I think it would be an excellent business, I'm thinking on selling this variation of tea in my city.

Ice tea recipes said...

Ice tea, summer is coming so it will be necessary :)

Bjorn Button said...

Thanks for the posts. Ive been a fan of ice tea for a long time. peach iced tea has always been my favorite and is about the only flavor I drink.