Everyone likes to eat or drink something cold during summer. Among them, Iced Tea is a very simple drink. Instead of buying from outside, you can make your own iced tea at home. It doesn’t take much. A good iced tea can be made by having tea leaves, water, ice and a little sugar or lemon according to your preference. The best thing is that if you make it at home, you can adjust the strength of the tea, the amount of sweetness and lemon according to your taste.
Before making iced tea, you must first decide what kind of tea to use. Iced tea can be made very easily with simple black tea. It can be done with green tea if you want. If you want, you can use lemon tea or any other flavored tea. But if you are making it for the first time, it is easy to start with plain black tea. Both tea leaves and tea bags can be used. There is less trouble in measuring the amount if it is a tea bag.
First, one to one and a half cups of water should be heated. No need to boil the water for a long time. When the water is hot, add tea leaves or tea bags. How many tea leaves to add depends on the type of tea and how strong you like your tea to be. In general, about one teaspoon of tea leaves can be used per cup of water. Tea bag can also be started with one tea bag for one cup.
Wait a few minutes after giving the tea. One thing needs to be noted here, if the tea is left in water for too long, the taste often becomes bitter. So it is better to strain the tea if it is a little dark according to your preference. If ice is added later, the tea will taste milder. So while making Iced Tea, better results are obtained if the tea is made a little darker than normal hot tea.
After the tea is ready, it is time to give sweets. Sugar dissolves easily in hot tea. So it is convenient to mix sugar while the tea is hot. The amount of sugar will depend on how sweet you like it. Some like more sweet, some less sweet. So first mix it with little sugar and then add more if needed. Iced tea can be made without adding sugar if you want.Then let the tea cool down a bit. Adding too much ice to hot tea can cause the ice to melt quickly and the tea to become watery. So the tea tastes better if it is cooled a bit and then iced. But there is no need to wait too long. When the tea is near normal temperature, it can be poured over ice.
Now take a glass and fill the glass with ice. Then slowly pour the brewed tea over the ice. The ice will cool the tea as it is poured. A little lemon juice can be given at this time. Lemon Iced Tea is preferred by many. The tea tastes a little fresher after adding lemon. But too much lemon can turn sour, so it’s better to start with less.
A few slices of lemon can also be added to the iced tea if desired. A slice of lemon in the glass looks nice and has a mild lemon taste. Some use mint leaves. Pressing a few mint leaves in the glass gives a fresh smell. But these are completely personal preferences. A good iced tea can be made with just tea and ice.
Many people use too much sugar while making iced tea. It does sweeten the drink, but too much sugar is not a good habit for regular consumption. So you can reduce the sugar if you want. Those who want to eat less sweets can avoid sugar. Using lemon, mint or any other natural flavor will keep the drink low in sugar but not empty.
One way to make iced tea better is to make the tea in advance and chill it. A few cups of tea can be made together and kept in the fridge. Later, when you want to drink, just pour the iced tea into the glass. However, you need to be careful about how long the tea can be stored. Store in a clean, covered container in the refrigerator and use quickly. It is better not to make a habit of eating after a long time.
Fruits can also be added to iced tea if desired. Lemon is the easiest. Besides, different types of Iced Tea can be made with slices of orange, peach, strawberry or other fruits. Pieces of fruit can be added directly to the glass or pre-mixed to bring out the fruit flavor in the tea. However, using more fruit or sweet syrup can increase the sugar and calories of the drink.If you want to make iced tea with green tea, you can do the same, but it is not right to keep green tea in hot water for a long time. It may taste bitter. Green tea can taste better if you use slightly cold water without heating the water too much. It can then be chilled and served over ice. Lemon or mint can also be given if desired.
The amount of ice also matters when making iced tea. Too much ice will cool the tea faster but melting the ice can make the tea thinner. So if the tea is well chilled beforehand then there is no need to add much ice. If you want to make it outside on a hot day and eat it immediately, you can use a little more ice.
The best part about making iced tea at home is that you can do the whole thing yourself. Dark or light tea, more or less sweet, whether to have lemon or mint, these can be fixed according to your own preferences. Similarly, there is no need to keep the same taste every day. Some days Lemon Iced Tea, some days Mint Iced Tea and some days only normal Iced Tea can be made.
In very simple terms, to make a glass of iced tea, first you have to make the tea a little darker. While hot, mix sugar as required. Then the tea should be cooled a little. Add ice to the glass and pour the tea over it. Then add lemon juice, lemon slices or mint leaves if desired. Well, cold iced tea was made at home.On hot days, instead of buying bottles or ready-made drinks from outside, you can make this simple drink at home. You can customize the flavor and how much sugar you use is also up to you. A cold iced tea can be made in minutes without much hassle. So if you love to drink tea, you can make it yourself once.
