Most people haven’t used loose organic tea for iced tea. However, using loose tea is an affordable way to create flavorful iced tea blends at home. There are several methods you can use to brew iced tea at home using loose leaf organic tea.
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Special Brewers
You can find special tea brewers just for loose organic tea. For instance, the Magic Tea Maker, sold at www.theteatable.com uses two distinct parts. It resembles two pitchers stacked on one another. The top portion is what brews the tea. You simply place your loose organic tea leaves in the top pitcher and pour your hot water in. Once it’s done brewing you snap that pitcher to the top of the other. The bottom pitcher acts as a trigger mechanism, and the water is pulled through a strainer. The tea ends up in the bottom pitcher without any of the loose tea floating in it. You can sweeten it as you wish and pour over ice. The top pitcher can be rinsed out and the leaves discarded.
Sun Tea with Loose Organic Tea
Sun tea has been a popular method for brewing iced tea for decades. You need to take some precaution if you plan on making sun tea at home. If you do this wrong or carelessly you can make yourself, and anyone who drinks the tea, sick. The CDC issued a statement regarding the safety of sun tea, and some tips to help make it safer. Start by placing the loose organic tea in the bottom of the sun tea container. Fill the container up ¾ of the way. Allow this to sit in the sun for no more than 4 hours. You only want to brew enough tea to drink that day. Don’t plan on storing this for more than a day. It’s suggested that when you bring the tea inside that you heat it to at least 195 degrees for 5 minutes. This will kill a lot of the bacteria that can start to grow in tea that is sitting outside. The CDC also suggests that you consider brewing the tea in the fridge overnight. It gives you the same flavor that sun tea would without the potential consequences.
Use the Right Recipe
Brewing iced tea with loose organic tea will be different than using organic tea bags. With tea bags, you simply place the bags in the tea pot and go by the directions on the box. Loose leaf tea will be different. Each type of tea will have a different recipe that works. For instance, herbal fruit tea blends will need to be brewed for longer than organic black tea. As a general rule of thumb you want to use 2 tablespoons of loose tea for each cup of tea you plan on making. Black tea needs to be heated more than green tea. Green tea doesn’t need to get as hot to create the iced tea. White tea needs to be brewed for the same amount of time as green tea. Some teas can be brewed using cold water as well. You can also add fruit juices to iced tea to create a twist on iced tea. Consider using fresh blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries in your next batch of loose organic tea for a tasty treat.
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