In 1904, America was just starting to become a world power. One of its marked achievements was that it hosted the 1904 World’s Fair. People traveled from all over the world to show off their different inventions, gadgets and cultural products. One person who traveled to St. Louis was a tea farmer who wanted to give away free samples of his tea, believing that once people tasted it they would love it and buy more.
The problem was it was scorching hot outside and no one wanted anything hot to drink. Out of desperation, he dumped a bunch of ice into the tea and he had an instant hit. That story is most likely an Urban Legend, but it does show how basic iced tea is. Iced tea is simply hot tea that has been cooled and iced. The easiest way to make iced tea is to wait until your tea has cooled and then pour it over ice.
But who has time to wait for tea to cool? I’m thirsty now!
The good news is that there is a tip to make iced tea you can drink immediately. The better news is that it only takes about 5 minutes to make a full pitcher.
What you will need
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Tea (double the usual amount)
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A teapot
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A large pitcher
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Ice
What are the steps?
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Heat your water to the desired temperature (Boiling for Black Tea, slightly cooled for the other types of tea)
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Place the tea in your teapot
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Pour the water into the teapot and steep for the appropriate time
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While the tea is steeping, fill the pitcher to the top with ice
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Pour the fully steeped tea over ice
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You are ready to serve!
Doubling the tea helps your tea keep its flavor
Since we are pouring the tea over ice, we are actually diluting the flavor of the tea. To prevent this, we need to make tea that is twice is strong. No matter what you do, don’t try and steep the tea for twice as long as the tea will get very astringent and bitter.
Summary
While you may or may not believe the story of the creation of iced tea, the basic fact is that it is very easy to make. On a hot summer day, it is really hard to beat a nice ice-cold glass of iced tea…and now you know that it only takes 5 minutes to make!
photo: www.flickr.com/photos/arriabelli/2301015744/
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