5 Ways To Make Iced Tea at Home 

Perfect for summertime

With warmer weather comes the desire for a cool refreshing beverage and tea offers a versatile beverage that can be prepared or combined in many different ways. At KoffiePiraat, we stock a range of quality teas to help you keep cool this summer.

 

1) Basic Single Serving Iced Tea

This cool drink is simple and quick to prepare for a single serving.

  • Prepare your favorite variety of tea as you normally would for the hot version but this time, fill your mug about 3/4 of the way to the top with boiling water.
  • Allow the tea to steep for about 3 - 5 minutes. Please note: the longer you leave the tea bag in the water, the stronger it will be.
  • While your tea is steeping, prepare a tall glass by filling it with ice cubes.
  • Once your tea has steeped sufficiently, add cold water to the mug and stir
  • Remove the tea bag
  • Optional step: add honey, sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice and stir
  • Pour over ice in the taller glass and enjoy

 

2) Fruity Single Serving Iced Tea

This cool drink is simple and quick to prepare for a single serving.

  • Prepare a mug with a few pieces of fresh fruit like pineapple, peaches, strawberries, blueberries or raspberries
  • Place a tea bag over the fruit and add a splash of cold water
  • Fill the mug and let the tea steep for about 3 - 5 minutes. Please note: the longer you leave the tea bag in the water, the stronger it will be.
  • While your tea is steeping, prepare a tall glass by filling it with ice cubes.
  • Once your tea has steeped sufficiently, remove the tea bag
  • Mash fruit with a fork to release its flavor
  • Optional step: add honey, sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice and stir
  • Pour over ice cubes in the taller glass and enjoy 

Variations to try = Peaches with fresh mint leaves or Raspberries with mint tea.

 

3) Frozen Tea Cubes Single Serving Iced Tea

This version requires some advanced preparation for the first part of the recipe but the great thing about it is you can store it in the freezer for a quick refresher anytime.

  • Prepare your favorite type of tea with boiling water and allow to cool. This is faster if you put the tea in the refrigerator after you remove the tea bag.
  • Once the tea is cold, pour it into an empty ice cube tray and freeze.
  • When the tea is frozen, you can store in a plastic freezer bag or freezer safe container for later use.
  • To use your frozen tea cubes, swap them into the basic iced tea preparation in place of regular ice cubes.

 

4) Sun Tea

This method takes a bit longer to prepare but the flavors are more subtle as they have more time to develop.

  • Start with 1 liter of cold water and 3 tea bags
  • Combine in a large container with a lid you can secure so that it is airtight
  • Optional step: add chunks of frozen fruit
  • Close the lid on your container and place in a window or on a porch where it will get direct sunlight
  • Let sit for 24 - 36 hours
  • Remove tea bags
  • Optional step: add honey, sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice and stir
  • Pour over ice in a tall glass and enjoy
  • Store unused portions in the refrigerator.

 

5) Family Fruit Tea

This version is easy to prepare but requires more time to cool in the refrigerator.

  • Start by bringing 1 liter of water to a raging boil.
  • In a large container, place 3 - 4 tea bags. KoffiePiraat has a range of Birchall teas you’ll really enjoy.
  • Pour the boiling water over the tea bags and steep for about 5 minutes
  • Remove the tea bags
  • Optional step: add honey, sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice and stir
  • Add some fruit of your choice and swirl around
  • Place the container in the refrigerator until it is cool
  • Serve as-is or over ice

 

Bonus = The fastest method

This is a great way to make iced tea quickly. Because there is less time for the tea to pick up the flavor of fresh fruit, try a flavored tea instead. Of course, any variety of tea works well with this method.

  • Boil enough water to fill a large container about a quarter of the way
  • Add 3 - 4 tea bags to the container and pour in the boiling water
  • Let tea steep for about 5 minutes
  • Remove the tea bags
  • Optional step: add honey, sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice and stir
  • Fill the container the rest of the way with cold water and stir
  • Optional step: add lemon juice and lemon slices for a zing of citrus
  • Pour over ice in a tall glass and enjoy

 

Iced tea is one of the most versatile summer refreshments. With a little imagination, you can have fun with combinations of fruit, citrus and aromatic herbs like mint.

 

Do you want the best tea bags for your own iced tea? Get these Birchall variants in the KoffiePiraat webshop.