A gentle reminder is in order for iced tea drinkers now that summer is upon us yet again. “Sun tea” – namely the tired old trend of leaving tea in a vat of water for the sun to gently percolate – is not only a microbial disaster waiting to happen, it also yields inferior flavour from the tepid brewing temperatures. Yes I know your grandmother from Alabama did it and you never had a problem. You’re tempting bacterial fate if you keep up the tradition. Brew it right instead by using properly boiling water from the stovetop.
Some of the most common health code violations in restaurants and cafes that inhabit hot climates originate in the foul incubators that brew and hold their iced tea. Particularly so when the Southern US tradition of heavily sugared ‘sweet tea’ is the culprit. Laboratories use tea substrates to culture bacteria samples if that’s any indication of the fertile playground you’re harbouring. Avoid those traps by brewing at full temperature and icing things down quickly before parking in the fridge. Throw out any tea not consumed within three days but if it’s hot enough outside, I doubt you’ll have a problem guzzling through the stuff by the liter while you’re out planting tomatoes and raspberries in the garden sunshine.
You can be as generous or conservative as you wish on sweetening since you’re in control and (hopefully) have no Southern US traditionalists to answer to in your kitchen. Work your way back to lower levels or even sugar-free with each pitcher or try some adventurous alternatives. Agave syrup wasn’t to my taste here since it really shows through a cold beverage. Various commercial stevia extracts too were overpowering to my taste buds however FRESH stevia leaf from the garden held great promise. My grandmother’s habit of tossing in a few saccarin tablets in the summers of the 1970’s wasn’t even an option these days not that it would have been any better. Honey is still a personal favourite which conveniently is in ample supply just as it gets hot enough to need a few pitchers worth.
Here are my default proportions for you to tinker with to your own preference – including the size of your pitcher and level of summertime thirst. The only ‘rule’ is to use boiling hot water for brewing and get it out of the ‘danger zone’ of temperature for bacterial growth as quickly as possible. Namely anywhere between 5C (41F) and 60C (140F) and particularly between 21C (70F) and 53C (125F) where the little buggers really start multiplying. None of which is a problem if you keep it ice cold from fridge to glass.
Safe (and more delicious) Brewed Lemon Iced Tea
(yield 3 liters, cost around fifty cents on my calculator)
1.5 liters water (or 1500g on your scale)
15g black leaf tea or the equivalent in high quality teabags*
25g lemon juice (bottled acceptable but fresh preferred)
100-300g sugar, honey, a blend, or similar to taste **
1/4 tsp citric acid
ice + cold water for an additional 1500g
* While loose leaf tea is generally preferred for quality of flavour, 6-7 high quality tea bags may also be used. Broken leaf is also acceptable given the iced context which mutes nuances found in better leaves.
** My preference is 150g honey. If you want fizzy soda levels of sweetness closer to most Southern US ‘sweet tea’ recipes then you’re likely nearer to 300g of sugar but try to work yourself down from those peaks for your dentist’s sanity.
Bring the water to a full boil over medium heat THEN add the tea. Continue to boil another 30 seconds then remove from heat and allow to steep for five minutes. During this time add the lemon, sweetening, and citric acid stirring well to dissolve. Optionally, add flavours like dried orange peel or hibiscus flower to this hot steep stage. Note that most flavour additions, including lemon, tend to make the tea ‘cloudy’ in appearance. It’s nothing more than aesthetic and tastes every bit as good as crystal clear versions.
Strain the tea while pouring into a large (3+ litre) pitcher containing ice and additional cold water. Don’t leave the tea or teabags IN the pitcher as they’ve already imparted their flavour and will only add bitterness over time. Stir well and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. If you use enough ice in the last step it’s drinkably cold almost immediately since the hot brew melts a majority of the ice in the first few minutes. Fresh mint leaves, ginger slices, or various citrus slices can be added now or at serving if desired but be aware they also continue to steep and may need removing at some point to avoid overpowering the flavour (e.g. don’t leave fresh ginger in there more than a few hours).
– msh v2.2
