Even when cool weather settles in, I like to revisit the memory of warm summer days with a refreshing glass of home-brewed iced tea. Home-brewed iced tea is so versatile, whether you enjoy it plain or use it as a base for your beverage creativity springboard (tea cocktails, anyone?).
These four ways to make fool-proof home-brewed iced tea will inspire your iced tea adventures!
Home Brewed Iced Tea: Starting Hot
Let’s begin with the traditional fool-proof approach to iced tea: hot brew. Use a kettle to heat your water and then steep your favorite tea – black, green, or herbal.
Starting hot takes a little patience and a good memory. How many of us have forgotten that we brewed hot tea and then found it on the kitchen counter after it’s gone cold? (Me, always.) Well, now, our forgetfulness can pay off! The hot, steeped tea needs time to cool to room temperature, and then you can pour it into a glass filled with ice and add any sweetener or extras you choose.
I really enjoy using this method with the Porch Sippin’ Pecan tea with its base of bold, vibrant, malty Orange Pekoe black tea from India paired with rich cinnamon chips and actual pecans. The result is a strong tea that brews well and is a welcome invitation to sit, relax, and revel in a glass of home brewed iced tea.
Home Brewed Iced Tea: Starting Cold
If you haven’t jumped on the cold brew bandwagon, now is the time. Starting with a cold brew for your home-brewed iced tea is an excellent idea because you can make a large batch that will last a few servings.
You might be asking yourself, can I really brew tea in cold water? The answer is, yes! Cold-brewed tea offers some additional benefits, too. The cold water draws fewer bitter flavors from the tea, no matter how long you steep it. In fact, you can set up your cold brew at night before bed and in the morning have the perfect base for your home-brewed iced tea. This is a super approach to use with green and white teas, neither of which do well in boiling water.
All you need to get started with cold brew is a container, some fresh water, and your tea of choice. It will easily become your go-to method for making tea.
Check out the Citrus Mint green tea for a delicious cold brew. A delightful dance of lemon and orange pair with hints of lemongrass and a sprinkle of spearmint to create a true zen moment. It’s bright and awakening but in a calm, assuring way, and all those delicious flavors will be coaxed out in a leisurely cold soak for a fool-proof home-brewed iced tea.
Home Brewed Iced Tea: Starting with the Sun
My very first memories of tea are of my mom sun brewing a large glass container with six or seven tea bag hanging inside. Sun brewing is another fool-proof way to make your home-brewed iced tea.
You’ll want a warm, sunny day for this project, and you’ll need several hours for the tea to brew with this method. Check out these tips and tricks to sun brew tea. For example, it’s recommended to use a double batch of tea and let the loose leaves swim freely in the water for maximum infusion power.
A fabulous choice for your sun brewed tea is Fog Cutter black tea with lemon. It’s a blend of four black teas — Darjeeling, African, Ceylon, and Assam — along with a hint of lemon peel to provide brightness.
Home Brewed Iced Tea: Instant Pot
The final way to fool-proof your home-brewed iced tea is to start with the Instant Pot. Your loose leaf tea can go straight into the pot with your water and then be filtered out once the pressure cooking is complete, or you can put the loose tea into tea filter bags and submerge them in the pot of water while it cooks.
Then, set your Instant Pot to high pressure for just three minutes and start the program. After it’s finished, allow the pressure to release naturally. (Quick release of the pressure may cause the water to boil and draw too much bitterness out of the leaves.)
No worries of over-steeping your tea with boiling water with this method; pressure cooking never brings the water to boiling temps. Once your tea is steeped, let it cool down and then pour over ice for the perfect glass of home-brewed iced tea.
Gifts for Iced Tea Lovers
Tea is one of the most fun things to accessorize, and iced tea accessories make great gifts for your friends who love their home-brewed iced tea. Unique ice cube trays are a fun treat for any iced tea aficionado, and there are a lot of cool shapes to choose from.
A special set of tall drinking glasses paired with long-handled iced tea spoons make a great gift, too. Visit your local vintage shops and thrift stores for awesome finds on glassware that still has a lot of life to live.
How about a sweet canister set that can be labeled with a dry-erase pen so your giftee can easily keep track of their tea inventory? These canisters will look beautiful in any kitchen or tea station and will help keep tea fresh.
Check out even more gift ideas for all your friends who love iced tea.
