How many of you knew that June was National Iced Tea month? I knew that only because I’m a big iced tea drinker. I love sweetened tea, flavored teas and everything in-between. With that said, I prefer to make my own here at home, than to buy the store-bought pre-made junk! Even though June is over, we can all still enjoy some great homemade iced tea!
Here are easy steps to brewing perfectly balanced iced tea:
– Start any cup of tea by boiling fresh, filtered water.
– For best results, black and herbal teas should be steeped with water right off the boil (around 212°).
– Green, white, or oolong teas are best brewed with water just before it’s boiled (180-190°).
– For every 8 oz (1 cup) serving of iced tea you wish to brew, you’ll want one tea bag or 1 tsp (2-3 g) loose leaf.
– Make a double strength concentrate by steeping the tea bag or tea leaves in half the amount of water as you would for hot tea, for an 8 oz cup you’ll brew a 1/2 cup (4 oz) concentrate.
– Now, steep your concentrate! Here is a quick guide to steep times:
Black: 3-4 min, Herbal: 5 min, Green: 2-3 minutes, Oolong: 2-3 min, White: 1-3 min.
– Once your tea has steeped, remove the tea bag or strain the leaves with a sieve or brewing basket, then add cold or tepid water to create 1 full cup of tea.
– Pour over ice, and enjoy! If you like, you can add your favorite sweetener or a twist of lemon.
More Iced Tea Tips:
To make a stronger cup, double your tea bags or increase the amount of tea leaves used, not the brew time, as this can affect the flavor and increase bitterness.
To prevent cloudiness, never pour hot tea directly over ice. Adding tepid water first helps to bring the water temperature down slowly.
As I previously stated, I prefer to make my own iced tea at home and that starts with a good organic tea bag for me. Recently I was sent 3 complimentary boxes of Choice Organic Teas in the following flavors to try out for all of you.
Blackberry Hibiscus – Organic Herbal Tea
Mango Black – Organic Black Tea
Peach Green – Organic Green Tea
Each box contains 16 tea bags and all of them are certified USDA organic. These are high-quality organic gourmet teas that you can brew and drink hot or brew and then pour them over ice to make iced tea.
Since I’m a BIG iced tea drinker, I’ve been using all three flavors to make myself 1-2 glasses of iced tea every day. My mother is a big hot tea drinker and she has been using the Blackberry Hibiscus to make herself a cup of hot tea in the morning. She loves that flavor and finds that it’s sweet enough all on it’s own & she doesn’t need to add any sugar.
When I make my homemade iced tea, I do sweeten it up with some granulated sugar. I like to add the sugar in while the tea is still hot, so that it dissolves smoothly. Once it has been dissolved, I then pour the hot tea in my tall glass filled with ice cubes. There’s nothing like making your own freshly brewed iced tea at home!
I love all three of the flavors that I received from Choice Organic Teas and would seriously buy all three of them! These teas are absolutely fantastic for making flavored iced teas!
Giveaway: One lucky winner is going to win 3 boxes of organic tea! The winner will receive 1 box of Blackberry Hibiscus, 1 box of Mango Black and 1 box Peach Green from Choice Organic Teas.
Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on July 28th, 2016 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
Disclaimer: Shelly Hill has not received any monetary compensation for this post and she did not receive any type of promotional product or review item. This is a courtesy post compliments of The Wagon Store. The Two Classy Chics are not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment.
Bai Mu Dan – White Peony – Loose Leaf sounds so good love to try it out
I would try the Body Stress Relief tea
I’d love to try the hibiscus heart tea.
I would like to try Hibiscus Heart.
re-pinned devil eggs recipe
My husband is the tea drinker in our house. He loves the mint teas. I think he would like the Rest Assured. Sounds relaxing!
Today ‘s comment was on the Children’s Book Review: The Mixed-Up Truck
I love the classic tea set.
I signed up for the Choice Organic teas newsletter with hwb277@hotmail.com
I repinned the Tips for Brewing the Perfect Iced Tea at Home to my Giveaways Pinterest board as jopb
I want to try the Mint Green tea
I shared this pin on 07/15/2016; low carb spinach and cheese ‘muffin’
I would want to try their Licorice Mint tea first, I have never heard of that flavor combination before. I am very curious about it now, sounds so (yummy) with a splash of lemon in there too!
The tea flavor that I would like to try is the Licorice Mint – I have always loved this flavor combination in tea.
I would love their classic tea gift set! Thank you!
subscribe email: slehandwc at gmail dot com
Pinned Paula Deen’s Homemade Lemonade Recipe.
I want to try the Beauty Detox tea!
wish they had a sample basket of each of their teas……….. love trying new teas
Chai Spice Black Tea …………. so many chai to chose from want to try them all
I would like to try all except the mint. I am not a fan of the mint flavoring at all.
I pinned Shelly’s Garbanzo Chocolate Cookies Recipe. I missed this post last month and it looks like a good recipe since I’m a chickpea lover!
I signed up for Organic Choice Teas newsletter!
I think I’d like to try the hibiscus heart tea.
I pinned Tips for Brewing the Perfect Iced Tea at Home
I would love to try the Lychee White tea! I love lychees right from the tree, nothing compares, I’d love to savor the goodness with the tea.
I would love to try the Lychee White tea! I love lychees right from the tree, nothing compares, I’d love to savor the goodness with the tea.
I am addicted to Earl Grey tea and would love to try this first!
I would like to try the Wellness Tea Bag Sampler**.
I am loving the combinations they offer. On a positive note it looks like they offer a discount on your first order when you sign up for their newsletter.
I would love to try the Masala chai tea.
I love Choice’s Genmaicha tea and would love to have more of that, too. I also drink their oolong and jasmine.
I think the Mint Green would make wonderful ice tea.
Thanks for the contest.
I love the Wellness Tea Bag Sampler
I’d like to try the Masala Chai.
I would like to try the earl grey tea
I signed up for their newsletter.
I went to their site and I would also love to have the Wellness Teas gift set.
I would like to try the Chia Spice Black Tea.
My husband would love the Rooibos (Red Bush Tea) + Vanilla tea, this is one of his favorite blends.
I like deep, dark teas, so I really want to try Choice Organic’s Russian Caravan tea and Wild Forest Black tea.
I repined Fun Cocktail Recipes for July 4th.
I would like their Wellness Tea Bag Sampler with 8 great teas to try.
I like black teas the best so I would go for the Irish Breakfast.
I would also like to try the Breakfast Blend and the Chai Spice Gourmet teas.