Cyxelsid
Member
In my first post, I talked about cold brewed coffee. This time I want to focus on cold brewed tea. The reasons that cold brewed tea is better than hot brewed tea are exactly the same as cold brewed coffee.
Now, I have also experimented with sun tea, which is just a 3-4 hour brew, using the direct rays of the sun to heat the water and brew the tea. I love the idea and the taste of sun tea. However, for various scientific reasons, the safety of sun tea has been questioned. Basically, the argument is that the tea sits for too long in the "danger zone" between 6o degrees and 135 degrees, so not only does It not kill the bacteria that lives on the tea leaves and potentially less than sterilzed glass containers (which hot brewing does), but it actually promotes their growth. So for now, I am not recommending sun tea.
Cold brewed tea, on the other hand, is also fantastic! And, I love to make it with various favorite fruits. My current favorite is strawberry watermelon black tea. It is smooth and refreshing, and requires no sugar for sweetening, in my humble opinion. AND, it is amazingly simple and requires no special equipment. Although the cold brew pitcher I mentioned in Part I also works well here. But I personally like to make more volume than that pitcher can handle!
So, I start with an 80oz glass pickle jar! I like pickles, a lot. So I buy the 80 oz jars often. As a result, I have saved 3 or 4 of them over the years. The labels are long since gone, and they make fantastic vessels for this sort of thing. Just make sure they are thoroughly washed with hot water and soap, and well-rinsed. I recommend you do this immediately before using it, to make sure there is no bacteria.
Next, I buy fruit. I have used watermelon, strawberry, mango, blueberry, and rasberry. I also made a fantastic strawberry hibiscus. One of my next attempts will be cherry! I have been using basic Lipton black tea bags, since I can buy a box of 100 of them for about $4. But I have ordered some loose black tea, and I will try that when it comes in, you just need tonhave tea infusers.
I buy the fruit and let it sit and over ripen for a week or so. I am not a big fan of over ripened fruit, generally. But in this case, the more ripe and sweet it is, the better the flavor! A 3-5 pound watermelon will yeild enough fruit over a week or two for 5-6 batches of tea.
Once the fruit is ripened to your liking, chop it up. For watermelon, I generally cut about 2 cups of it into 1-inch cubes. For the other fruits, just don't leave them whole. You want to chop them up to make it easier to get the juice out. Drop the fruit in the bottom of the pickle jar, and muddle it. That is, mash it up. I use a bean or potato masher. Just mash it up as smooth as you can get it, releasing the juice.
Next add 10 tea bags. The general recommendation is one 2.5 oz teabag per 8oz of water. So... 80 oz = 10 teabags. If you're using a different size vessel, adjust accordingly. I like to mix the teabags in with the juice before I add the water. I don't know if that makes it any better, I just like to do it.
Then fill the jar with room temperature water. Try to fill it all the way to the top, leaving no air in the top. Air = bacteria and mold. Once filled, I like to cover the opening with plastic wrap, before I put the lid on.
Now, the same as with cold brew coffee, you have a choice. Let it brew at room temperature for 8-10 hours, or put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Once it has brewed, take it out and strain the mixture to get out the fruit pulp and tea bags.
The last step is to pour it over ice and enjoy!
I hope you try these simple recipes to get you through the boredom that some of us have experienced!
Now, I have also experimented with sun tea, which is just a 3-4 hour brew, using the direct rays of the sun to heat the water and brew the tea. I love the idea and the taste of sun tea. However, for various scientific reasons, the safety of sun tea has been questioned. Basically, the argument is that the tea sits for too long in the "danger zone" between 6o degrees and 135 degrees, so not only does It not kill the bacteria that lives on the tea leaves and potentially less than sterilzed glass containers (which hot brewing does), but it actually promotes their growth. So for now, I am not recommending sun tea.
Cold brewed tea, on the other hand, is also fantastic! And, I love to make it with various favorite fruits. My current favorite is strawberry watermelon black tea. It is smooth and refreshing, and requires no sugar for sweetening, in my humble opinion. AND, it is amazingly simple and requires no special equipment. Although the cold brew pitcher I mentioned in Part I also works well here. But I personally like to make more volume than that pitcher can handle!
So, I start with an 80oz glass pickle jar! I like pickles, a lot. So I buy the 80 oz jars often. As a result, I have saved 3 or 4 of them over the years. The labels are long since gone, and they make fantastic vessels for this sort of thing. Just make sure they are thoroughly washed with hot water and soap, and well-rinsed. I recommend you do this immediately before using it, to make sure there is no bacteria.
Next, I buy fruit. I have used watermelon, strawberry, mango, blueberry, and rasberry. I also made a fantastic strawberry hibiscus. One of my next attempts will be cherry! I have been using basic Lipton black tea bags, since I can buy a box of 100 of them for about $4. But I have ordered some loose black tea, and I will try that when it comes in, you just need tonhave tea infusers.
I buy the fruit and let it sit and over ripen for a week or so. I am not a big fan of over ripened fruit, generally. But in this case, the more ripe and sweet it is, the better the flavor! A 3-5 pound watermelon will yeild enough fruit over a week or two for 5-6 batches of tea.
Once the fruit is ripened to your liking, chop it up. For watermelon, I generally cut about 2 cups of it into 1-inch cubes. For the other fruits, just don't leave them whole. You want to chop them up to make it easier to get the juice out. Drop the fruit in the bottom of the pickle jar, and muddle it. That is, mash it up. I use a bean or potato masher. Just mash it up as smooth as you can get it, releasing the juice.
Next add 10 tea bags. The general recommendation is one 2.5 oz teabag per 8oz of water. So... 80 oz = 10 teabags. If you're using a different size vessel, adjust accordingly. I like to mix the teabags in with the juice before I add the water. I don't know if that makes it any better, I just like to do it.
Then fill the jar with room temperature water. Try to fill it all the way to the top, leaving no air in the top. Air = bacteria and mold. Once filled, I like to cover the opening with plastic wrap, before I put the lid on.
Now, the same as with cold brew coffee, you have a choice. Let it brew at room temperature for 8-10 hours, or put it in the fridge for 24 hours. Once it has brewed, take it out and strain the mixture to get out the fruit pulp and tea bags.
The last step is to pour it over ice and enjoy!
I hope you try these simple recipes to get you through the boredom that some of us have experienced!
