Excuse me, my tea snob side is showing again...
I do like sun tea, but haven't made it in a long time simply due to the time it takes. My normal method for iced tea is to brew up a pot just as I normally would, with maybe half to one teaspoon more leaves than normal. I fill a tempered glass pitcher with ice, and then pour the hot tea over it, swirling it around so it cools rapidly. That's it. No fuss, no muss, and it's always fabulous.
This week I've been drinking Assam Melody from Adagio over ice, pictured above - and it makes a really great glass because it's naturally a little sweeter than, say, a Ceylon tea would be. It's very rich and full-flavored, and still very refreshing.
Another tea I've been drinking iced is Perfectly Passionate from Teas, Etc - a black tea from Sri Lanka mixed with marigold petals that somehow manages to have a very fruity, almost mango-like taste. It's excellent...and the flavor is enhanced when it's chilled, in my opinion.
And of course, if you don't want the caffeine, do try iced Rooibos. I haven't made any yet this year, but it's quite a treat - very naturally sweet, and if you use the fruity flavors, very much like a dessert cocktail of sorts. More on that later when I've made a few batches.
Are you icing your tea this summer? What are your favorite leaves/flavors to chill?
Yum. Brace yourself, because I grew up on good old fashioned sun tea made from enough Lipton's tea bags to grow hair on your chest and possibly the bottom of your feet. No sugar, of course.
ReplyDeleteThis looks quite delicious and as an adult, I can definitely appreciate tea with a subtlety in finer teas. I hate to say it though, but I do kind miss the rocket fuel my mom used to make every summer. Now that I've shocked you, I think my work here is done. Your glass looks delicious.
LOL - Well go ahead and make some. If you ever visit though, you'll want to avoid drinking tea at my house. My husband complains all the time that I've "ruined" tea for him anywhere else. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have break down and do some tea shopping on-line - my town is a black hole for people who enjoy anything other than tea from the grocery store. I've never been a big fan of iced tea, but that's mainly because I've always found it too sweet and as you say, it doesn't taste like real tea.
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