Homemade iced tea?

Since I started school again, I have been drinking a lot of tea. I never used to like it before but now I just love it. And the caffeine sure helps with studying!

Now that summer is here, I'm thinking of switching to iced tea. I've never made any before... how do I do it?
what kinds of tea are good for iced tea? How much sugar should I put in?

Ooo i am interested in seeing the responses on this thread.
The regular boxed ice tea is really yuck for me now, but i just discovered this Lipton Green Lemon Ice tea and i soo it!

Sugar makes it sweet tea, not iced tea, it's a southern thing.

Plain old lipton makes the best, but so do a lot of the fruit teas, mix with lipton bags to keep the caffeine.
I like it strong, I use 12 normal sized bags per gallon.

for surgar, start with 1 cup for a gallon, then adjust it to your taste with future pitchers.

I put my tea on in a small pan with about 3 cups of water and let it come to a rolling boil, and turn it off and let it sit.

I put sugar in 1 gallon tea jug and very hot tap water, enough to cover the sugar, give it about 2 minutes to dissolve.
Then I fill the jar up to about half with cold water, add two trays of ice, the tea from the pan and fill the jar the rest of the way with water.
Stir, put in fridge.

If you have a good tea jug, you can put your sugar, tea bags, and water in it (full) and leave it in the sun for 4-8 hours.

I live in Arizona and we make sun tea.

Fill a glass gallon jar with cold water, add 10 tea bags and set it out in the sun, for 3-4 hours. This makes better-tasting tea, than boiling it. I just sweeten mine, by the glass, with a packet of Equal and a squirt of lemon juice.

...may be too sweet for you, but here's the recipe in my house. First, I like Lipton, Luzianne, or Tetley teas. I buy the family size bags and use four for a gallon.
In a saucepot, boil the tea bags in about 2 cups of water--the longer you boil, obviously, the stronger it is.
Once its "steeped" to your liking, I add about 1 1/2 cups sugar to the hot tea in order for the sugar to dissolve better.
I pour that into a pitcher and fill with water (or ice) to make a gallon--serve over ice with a lemon wedge, if desired.

I have had the sun-brewed tea as previously mentioned in this thread and it is soooooooo good!!

Take the amount of water you would use normally for one teabag, and multiply it to fill a gallon pitcher. Use the correct number of teabags for the water, and after boiling and steeping, add a large amount of sugars or sweeteners. Place that in the refrigerator, and wait.

these all sound delicious!

now all I need to do is buy a pitcher.

Make sure it's glass.
Using it for tea will stain plastic quite badly.

oh, good point. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Or look for a stainless steel pitcher. I have one with a lid that holds 2 liters (about half a gallon). I've been into peach blossom oolong iced tea lately. I put four heaping teaspoons into a paper tea filter, pour boiling water right into the pitcher, let it steep for about 5 - 10 minutes, and add some artificial sweetener (the equivalent of two or three teaspoons of sugar, as the tea is naturally a bit sweet). The pitcher is great, since I don't have to "dirty" a pot to make iced tea. Mine looks like the old-fashioned kind you see used for ice water in some restaurants.

Ooh you don't have to worry about cracking it with hot tea either.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Ooh you don't have to worry about cracking it with hot tea either.

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Exactly. I've had the thing for about 20 years, and won't part with it. My mom spotted it at a factory outlet, and as soon as she said, "Weren't you looking for a low pitcher?" I grabbed it. It's absolutely perfect for iced tea.

I bouhgt one of those Ice tea makers( from Mr Coffee) and I love it! Brad and I make all sorts of ice teas in it. We go online, buy loose teas, and it they work perfectly! I'll never part with my ice tea maker!

I cheat and use an iced tea maker.

I just boil the water, add some ice to a pitcher, then add three teabags. I pour the hot water over everything and let it cool in the fridge for a few hours. I usually use herbal tea. It's really good chilled.

I tea! I never make it because I am afraid it would get wasted, but I have a friend that makes it and it is sooo yummy!

Originally Posted by jugen

I bouhgt one of those Ice tea makers( from Mr Coffee) and I love it! Brad and I make all sorts of ice teas in it. We go online, buy loose teas, and it they work perfectly! I'll never part with my ice tea maker!

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Me too!

Though, since it can brew loose teas, I always make a nice hibiscus iced tea. It has a lovely slightly sour fruity flavor. It's wonderful and has a beautiful deep red color.

Anybody ever make sun tea though?

In a large glass pitcher you fill it with water and about 2 dozen tea bags (threads can be hanging over the top - my pitcher was actually one of those spout jars with a twist on top). On a hot day, place it outside where it can get direct sunlight early in the morning and at night bring it in to enjoy!

Originally Posted by DragulescuGirl

Me too!

Though, since it can brew loose teas, I always make a nice hibiscus iced tea. It has a lovely slightly sour fruity flavor. It's wonderful and has a beautiful deep red color.

Anybody ever make sun tea though?

In a large glass pitcher you fill it with water and about 2 dozen tea bags (threads can be hanging over the top - my pitcher was actually one of those spout jars with a twist on top). On a hot day, place it outside where it can get direct sunlight early in the morning and at night bring it in to enjoy!

Click to expand...

That was really big in my area 15 or 20 years ago, but a lot of people stopped making it because of warnings about bacteria proliferating in the jars.

I've never seen an iced tea maker - I'll have to do a search.

I make my very own sun tea.

Take a large glass jar with a lid that fits on tight.
add several bagd of your favoite tea I like resberry.
Put in some pieces of lemmon or frosen rasberries
put the whole jar out in the sun for about 4 hours
bring in and take out the teabags. Put the jar in the fridge
pour into a glass with some ice and enjoy (I add honey for sweetner)