Ice cold, thirst-quenching, and so much healthier than soda, iced tea is the perfect summer drink.
Cold brew
Cold brewing is the absolute best way to make iced tea. It’s delicious, smooth, and refined. It’s also the easiest method but it takes a few hours to make. Tea and water are combined and left to steep in the refrigerator. It takes about 6-12 hours to make, depending on the tea.
Cold brew
Cold brewing is the absolute best way to make iced tea. It’s delicious, smooth, and refined. It’s also the easiest method but it takes a few hours to make. Tea and water are combined and left to steep in the refrigerator. It takes about 6-12 hours to make, depending on the tea.
Hot brew
This method is quicker than making cold brew but it can make your iced tea cloudy and bitter if made incorrectly. Tea is brewed using hot water and then cooled down. It takes about 1-2 hours to make.
Ice chill
This is the quickest way to make iced tea but you need a ton of ice. This can make your iced tea cloudy and bitter if made incorrectly. Hot tea is made and then cooled down quickly using ice. It takes less than 10 minutes to make.
MILK AND CREAM OPTIONS
Cold foam
Instead of pouring in milk into your iced tea, top your drink with cold foam! It’s super easy to make at home. Take cold milk or half & half, and put it in a French press and move the plunger up and down 40 times. Yup, it really works!
Cream froth
This is a decadent topping and tastes great with matcha or black tea. Cream froth is basically lightly whipped cream. Whisk together heavy cream and sweetener, using a handheld milk frother (my trick to making whipped cream fast and easy) until it thickens. Use flavored syrups to make the cream froth even tastier
Sweetened condensed milk
This is my shortcut to making iced lattes quick since sweetened condensed milk is sugar and milk in one. It’s also a canned pantry item so it’s great if you run out of milk and want to add something creamy to your coffee or tea.
Half & half
Half & half is half heavy cream and half milk. It makes for a creamier milk option.
Milk
Any milk that you like can be used in iced tea.
TEA SOMMELIER’S TIPS
- It’s best to use simple syrup (liquid sugar) in iced tea since it is incorporated into the cold beverage the easiest. Simple syrup is easy to make at home. Just mix sugar and hot water in equal parts until the sugar dissolves.
- Any tea can be made iced from black tea to green.
- Don’t use tap water to make iced tea. The best-tasting tea is made with the best-tasting water. Use filtered water if you can.
- Iced tea can be made and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Iced tea will get cloudy when too many tannins (astringent compounds) that are naturally in tea leaves, are released into the water. This happens when water is too hot during the tea brewing process. If you do get cloudy tea, just add some hot water to the iced tea to clear it up.
