If you drink iced tea with your meals...

[PeterPan]

How do you make it? We're having a dinner party, and I have no clue how to do this! Well, I can sort of guess (tea bags, hot water, steep and dilute), but I don't really know how to do it and have it come out like people want. And have you ever made peach tea? My dh drinks this peach tea at Olive Garden and thinks it's wonderful, thinks we ought to serve it if we can...

 

Thanks! :)

[KarenNC]

We heat some water to boiling (usually a couple of cups), take it off the heat and add 4 regular tea bags per half gallon pitcher (I've been using Rose brand tea and like it fine, lots swear by Luzianne or other brand), steep 3 minutes then remove tea bags, pour into pitcher and fill up the rest of the pitcher with water. This will do unsweetened tea. I drink it this way with some lemon juice. Whatever you do, don't put the tea bags in the water on the heat and continue to boil it or put the tea bags in cold and bring the water to a boil--turns out incredibly nasty.

 

If you want to do sweet tea, you need to add sugar after you remove the tea bags, while the tea is still warm enough to dissolve the sugar. Stir until the sugar is all dissolved. I was using about a third of a cup of sugar to a half gallon when we did sweet tea, but I didn't want really sweet tea. I know folks who use a lot more sugar than that (I've seen recipes using 1 or 1 1/3 cups sugar per gallon). Adding sugar once it's cold won't work as the sugar won't dissolve---it'll just leave a sludge in the bottom of your glass.

 

I haven't done peach tea, but you could try using peach juice as the sweetener instead of sugar I suppose. Another option might be to add a peach syrup instead of sugar (definitely not in addition to!). Torani is one brand and you can usually find these in the grocery store near the coffees---they make lots of flavors and it only takes a little bit. If you have a World Market near you, they usually have a good selection and some of the flavors come in sugar free as well.

 

Also, try googling "olive garden peach tea recipe" and see what comes up.

Edited March 30, 2009 by KarenNC

[Dobela]

If you have never made it before, I would suggest just going and buying some already made. Good tea depends on many things from the type tea bought, the quality of the water it is made in, the time you steep it, how much sugar.... The basics are the same though.

 

When we buy tea for events I buy at Arby's or at the grocery store. It is not as inexpensive as regular homemade tea,but the flavor is consistent.

 

For flavored teas, you can buy tea bags with flavors and use those. Most restaurants however just add a syrup to your tea in the flavor of your choice. You can buy the flavored syrups at most specialty stores.

[lllll]

How do you make it? We're having a dinner party, and I have no clue how to do this! Well, I can sort of guess (tea bags, hot water, steep and dilute), but I don't really know how to do it and have it come out like people want. And have you ever made peach tea? My dh drinks this peach tea at Olive Garden and thinks it's wonderful, thinks we ought to serve it if we can...

 

Thanks! :)

 

Wellll, I'm from the South, so bear that in mind. When we lived up North, their coffee looked like tea (dh's words) and their tea looked like dingy bathwater - to me, anyway.

 

I bring a small pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat and take 5 family-size bags of Luzianne Tea and put into pot (hanging ends out). Put lid back on. Steep for 12 minutes. Remove tea bags, pressing against edge of pot with spoon to get every last bit of flavor out. Dump in 2 cups of sugar, stir, and let sit until dissolves and cools. When cool, dump into pitcher and add cold water until diluted like you like it. Serve with ice.

 

Be sure not to dilute it too much. When you add the ice, that will dilute it even further.

 

We don't make this very often, btw. More of a treat.

HTH

[MommyJo]

I just have a Mr.Coffee iced tea maker. If I had to do it by hand, it would never get done. It makes wonderful tea though and it's REALLY easy to use. I add the right amount of water diluted water (just leave that amount of water out so it's not too waterY) and VIOLA!

[Kristen in NC]

Wow Kathy, your tea sounds like what I call barbecue restaurant tea. It's the type where the spoon stands up in it because it's so sweet:D (I will drink it that way too.)

 

Our personal recipe is not quite as sweet. Add 2 Luzianne family size tea bags and a heaping 1/2 cup of sugar to a 1 qt measuring cup. Boil water in tea kettle and pour over the sugar and teabags. Stir to dissolve sugar and let steep for at least 5 minutes. (We've forgotten before and steeped it over 30 minutes and honestly couldn't tell a tremendous difference.) Then we take a 2 qt pitcher and fill it about half full of ice. Remove and squeeze the tea bags and pour over the ice. Add extra water to fill the pitcher.

 

HTH

[hillfarm]

I love iced tea but am having a problem making it here at home. Almost every time I do, it comes out very cloudy. The taste is fine but I hate how it looks so terrible. I make it unsweetened, boil the water, remove from heat, add several tea bags and steep. What am I doing wrong???

[Jen in PA]

We drink a ton of iced tea here -- it's what got DH to give up the soda habit. I use the pitcher size Lipton Cold Brew tea bags. I use the number listed on the box, but brew for much longer than they say to.... I just remove the bags when I like the color of the tea. No one here likes sugar in their tea, so I have no idea what to do to sweeten it.

[samba]

My mom has been making tea following this recipe:

 

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/perfecticedtea.htm

 

HTH,

 

Carolyn

[KarenNC]

Forgot to add that I do use filtered water (from our Brita pitcher) for both the water I boil and the water I add. My husband will put the tea bags in the pitcher and pour the boiling water on them there, then pull them out after three minutes.

 

Do leave the tags hanging out over the edge of the pot so that it's easier to get them out. I've been known to loop them around the handle of the pot so they don't fall in. My husband doesn't care---he just fishes out the bags with a skimmer or slotted spoon.

 

I have found that if I squeeze the tea bags or let it steep for longer than the three minutes (my mother used to do a good bit longer), I find it too bitter to drink unsweetened. I was originally doing it with six tea bags per half gallon and letting it steep 5 minutes and couldn't drink it, so tastes vary a lot :) (I also tend to cut my juices with half water, so that may say something about me). I don't know if it varies with brand of tea bag as we have been using the Red Rose for a while and that's the time the box suggests. I usually get the Red Rose brand because my daughter likes the little ceramic animal figures that came inside. That may not be as big a factor going forward as they have changed the figures.:)

 

I can drink the "barbecue restaurant tea" as well (or could before I quit drinking sweetened tea), but only with a lot of lemon to cut the sweetness. It's what I grew up on here in NC (my great-grandmother's house was right behind a barbecue restaurant and we went a lot <G>). Tastes a bit like candied lemon;). Now that I've gotten used to unsweetened tea with lemon, sweet tea from somewhere like Bojangles (much less a local non-chain Southern restaurant, which is usually sweeter) tastes like pure sugar syrup.

 

Here's what Hints from Heloise says about cloudy tea "Cloudy iced tea could be caused by minerals in the water or by refrigerating it too soon after brewing. Try using bottled or filtered water and let the tea stand at room temperature for an hour after steeping. If the tea turns murky in the refrigerator, add a cup of boiling water to one quart of tea -- it should clear up the cloudiness. Remember, it will also dilute the tea, so add less ice." I've also seen suggestions to get the teabags designed especially for iced tea as they have fewer tannins than regular.

Edited March 30, 2009 by KarenNC

[1bassoon]

I just have a Mr.Coffee iced tea maker. If I had to do it by hand, it would never get done. It makes wonderful tea though and it's REALLY easy to use. I add the right amount of water diluted water (just leave that amount of water out so it's not too waterY) and VIOLA!

 

 

Just to say - I LOVE my Mr. Coffee tea maker :)

[Jann in TX]

I make this when dd(16) has friends over--they prefer it to soda!

 

Boil water and add to tea pot (or pitcher if you do not have a tea pot). Add 4 Lipton (no arguments--this is the brand I was raised on and I LIKE it!) tea bags (regular or decaf). Steep for 5 minutes covered, then add 1 peach tea bag (better yet Peach-Apricot-Honeybush by Celestial Seasonings). Steep an additional 3 minutes.

 

Add heaping 1/2 cup of sugar to pitcher. Pour tea over and stir to disolve.

 

Add water to make 2 quarts.

 

Sometimes the peach tea can become bitter if the 'peach' tea bag is left in too long.

 

--

We also have a peach syrup that we can add to regular sweet tea--but it is not the same as brewed.

[Pink Fairy]

I love to use Tazo tea bags, usually a lemon or raspberry flavor, but you could use peach. The key to sweet tea, imo, is to add the sugar to the tea while the water is still hot. Here's what I do:

 

1. Fill teapot 1/3 full and heat to boil

2. While waiting for teapot to boil, add 4 decaf Lipton tea bags (I like to drink mine at night), 1 flavored teabag, and about 1/4 cup sugar to 1/2 gallon pitcher.

3. Add boiling water to pitcher. Let sit for around 1/2 hour. Add cold water, and it's ready.

 

I never remove the tea bags. I have in the past, but it just doesn't seem to make a difference, so I dump them when I make a new pitcher. I drink tea all day, and with every meal. It's kind of like my water, lol.

[lllll]

Wow Kathy, your tea sounds like what I call barbecue restaurant tea. It's the type where the spoon stands up in it because it's so sweet:D (I will drink it that way too.)

 

 

:lol: Yeah, dh says I make it like syrup. Even worse, I usually sip it straight out of the pot while I'm waiting for it to cool so's I can dilute it. I only make it once in a blue moon though. At least, that's how I rationalize it anyway.;)

[i.love.lucy]

This California girl living in TX makes Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea and everyone loves it. Just a thought! :tongue_smilie:

[coralloyd]

I do the Luzianne family size tea bags or Lipton thing also. However, I just place them in one of those glass gallon containers with the spicket at the bottom (you know the ones you see everwhere come summer time), with water. I then take it outside and set it in the sun. The sun does all the work, and I don't have to dirty more than one thing :D. I just check on it ever so often, and when it is as dark as I want it, I put it in the frig. I also make sure I leave enough room to put ice, when the time come. If you want to make it sweet, just add sugar to taste, when you bring it in from outside.

 

You can do this with any tea bags you like. If they're the small ones, use about 7 or 10 bags.

Edited March 30, 2009 by coralloyd

[Dani n Monies Mom]

My mom has been making tea following this recipe:

 

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/perfecticedtea.htm

 

HTH,

 

Carolyn

 

This is how I make it as well. Very tasty and not too sweet for us.

[Cheryl in NM]

Here's what I do and the relatives from the South like it just fine (of course I added an extra cup of sugar for them!).

 

I use my coffee maker (I promise my coffee doesn't taste like tea and my tea doesn't taste like coffee!).

 

I used 7 regular tea bags-generic to 10 cups water.

I fill a gallon pitcher about 1/3 of the way with ice.

When the tea is done I add 1 cup sugar then pour it over the ice and top off with cold water.

[skaterbabs]

If you want to do sweet tea, you need to add sugar after you remove the tea bags, while the tea is still warm enough to dissolve the sugar. Stir until the sugar is all dissolved. I was using about a third of a cup of sugar to a half gallon when we did sweet tea, but I didn't want really sweet tea. I know folks who use a lot more sugar than that (I've seen recipes using 1 or 1 1/3 cups sugar per gallon). Adding sugar once it's cold won't work as the sugar won't dissolve---it'll just leave a sludge in the bottom of your glass.

 

 

 

yep - never add the sugar before you remove the tea bags, it makes the tea bitter. You can use "cold brew" tea (Lipton makes a good one) and instead of adding peach flavoring, add a little peach juice before sweetening. We do this and warm (slightly) some of the tea (after removing the tea bags) on the stove, dissolving the sugar at that point and then recombining it with the rest of the tea in the fridge. That way the tea is still fairly cool, but plenty sweet enough.

[Happy]

I like the sun tea method, too. I use Lusianne decaff family sized tea bags...but short one bag of what it calls for. I replace that bag with a Bigelow Peach Tea bag. Steep in the sun for about three hours. Add sugar to taste ( we do about a 1/2 a cup to peach tea) and serve over ice.

 

I also have gotta tell y'all....I've been making iced tea for thirty odd years. I've always added my sugar to the gallon of cold tap water, never the hot water. I just give it a good stir....the sugar disappears.

 

I saw a Bobby Flay show where he muddled up some canned peaches and poured part of that into a gallon of tea. Garnished with mint.

[PeterPan]

Jann, so you prefer brewing in a peach tea bag to the flavor of the syrups? I did a little researching (thanks for the prompting in the other posts!), and found the brand of the syrup Olive Garden uses is Torani. It's a little pricey to use for a party, though do-able. If the peach tea bag would be just as good, then it's worth a try! I think I have some experimenting to do...

 

Thanks for the recipes everybody! I'm learning a ton here, and I'll go check out your links next! :)

[Dobela]

I love iced tea but am having a problem making it here at home. Almost every time I do, it comes out very cloudy. The taste is fine but I hate how it looks so terrible. I make it unsweetened, boil the water, remove from heat, add several tea bags and steep. What am I doing wrong???

You may want to try a different brand of tea. My mom used lipton (and I love lipton) but for some reason it doesn't work well with our water. I switched to Lusianne and I no longer have cloudy tea.

[KarenNC]

I did a little researching (thanks for the prompting in the other posts!), and found the brand of the syrup Olive Garden uses is Torani. It's a little pricey to use for a party, though do-able.

 

A little of the syrup goes a long way. At our local grocer, it's $6 for a bit over 12 ounces, which I would think would flavor a number of gallons of tea since you probably only need enough to give a touch of the flavoring. You could probably combine it with sugar to get more sweetness for less money while still giving the flavor of the syrup. Of course, I've been shown to like things a lot less sweet or intense than many;).