How To Make Iced Tea
How to make the perfect glass of iced tea that's crystal clear, and strong enough to withstand a glassful of ice and still retain its flavor. Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, 1999.
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 8kcal
Ingredients
- 5 tea bags
- 1 Tablespoon superfine sugar or granulated cane sugar
- 1 quart water
- 1 quart ice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add 1 quart spring or filtered water and 5 tea bags.
- Bring to a very gentle simmer over medium heat until tea begins to look dark and bubbles appear on the side of the pot. Once the tea reaches 190 degrees F. using an instant read thermometer, remove pot from heat.
- If using sugar, stir in sugar and allow tea to steep 3 minutes.
- Fill a heat safe pitcher or glass container with 1 quart of crushed ice. Once the tea has finished steeping, remove tea bags and pour hot tea over crushed ice, stirring to dissolve. This makes a strong pitcher of tea to compensate for the ice melting in the glasses once it's served. If you prefer a less strong tea, add an extra cup or two of crushed ice.
- Transfer to a pitcher and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Fill glasses to the top with ice and pour iced tea over ice. Serve with lemon wedges and superfine sugar or simple syrup.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 8kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 0.04mg | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.002mg