Iced Tea Concentrate

[Che]

Tried this today, like it:

Pour a quart of water into a saucepan, bring to a boil.

Turn the burner to lowest setting ('off' might be fine, too.)

Tie 8 family sized tea bags together and plunk into water, let steep 20 minutes.

Pour into quart jar, add a cup of sugar (more or less, the usual amount you'd add to 2 gallons) and stir til dissolved.

cool and refrigerate.

To make 16 ounces of iced tea, add 1/4 cup concentrate to 1-3/4 cups of water, add ice....drink!

Sure saves space in the frig.

[Blinky]

My ex-girlfriend used to make tea like that, worked great.

[RentalDude]

That sounds like a great idea I'll have to try it tonight, thanks.

[NickfromWI]

Sweet idea. I drink hot tea all the time (not in the summer, though!).

I haven't had iced tea in I don't know how long

[top hopper]

Anyone ever make sun tea?

[lumberjack]

That's how we did it until this weekend when mother dearest decided it'd be better to have one of those tea brewers.

We did 4 tea bags and 1 cup of sugar per gallon, the main difference being we dilluted it to regular strength as we (I) drink volumes. At any given point there may be 4-5 gallons of milk and 1-3 gallons of tea in the back fridge, about enough milk for 4-6 days and the tea depends on the meals/activities.

Nick, iced tea is way different than sweet tea down here in economic MS.

[lumberjack]

I'll pass on the sun tea, thanks!


Not a very sanitary way of making tea. You can get the same effect letting the tea bags steepe in the fridge without the bacteria.

[top hopper]

Bahh, it aint gonna hurt ya. Use a clean container and seal it well.

[MasterBlaster]

Carl's a delicate 'lil thang.

[RentalDude]

Turns out there can be problems with bacteria in sun brewed tea.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/267618/is_sun_tea_safe_to_drink.html

[Skwerl]

Sun tea- when letting your stuff sit out in the sun all day is easier than turning on the stove for 5 minutes. ;)

[MasterBlaster]

Damn, now I don't want the stuff...

[top hopper]

I dont drink it personally. I just think it would be easier is all.

Besides a lil bacteria is good fer ya!

[RentalDude]

Funny thing is I've never thought about it before in fact I'm drinking some now. I thought Carl was jurking my chain. What would we do without google?

[Skwerl]

long time no see, Jerry. 8)

[lumberjack]

Trust me or die?

Anyone who's dinned with me can attest to the volume of liquids I consume, hence I try to insure it doesn't kill me too early.

[RentalDude]

Maybe the last of me if I don't put down this tea. :lol:

[top hopper]

So Carl. Do you boil your tap water before drinking, or just don't drink it.

I drink tons of tap water, but we also have some of the cleanest tap water in the nation.

[lumberjack]

Would I boil tap water that I left sitting outside for 2-6+ hours with bags from a 3rd world nation sitting in it? Yeah, pretty sure I would.

Would I drink tap water left in a cup covered with a cloth napkin after sitting out for a week around my house without boiling it? Sure.

I'm not a health freak/germaphobe in any sense of the word. I also don't actively pursue making 200 gallons of my yearly diet significantly less healthy.

Festered tea doesn't sound nearly as appeasing as brewed tea.

[top hopper]

point taken

[Frans]

Festered tea :lol: good one

[sotc]

haha, i drink festered tea:lol:
i like your idea che, when i make sweet tea it doesnt last long enough and im the only one to drink it

[stehansen]

I can't drink it. It keeps me up at night. I guess I'm the delicate one. I too used to drink festered tea.

[lumberjack]

I'm a decaff kinda guy. Same (or acquired) taste, and doesn't have the issues with caffeine, making it closer to flavored water.

[RentalDude]

My hats off to you Carl for the heads up....will I give up my sun brew? I'll let you know after I drink just one more glass..dang thats good tea

[Che]

I used to make alot of sun tea back in the 70s....but I also remember when it was discouraged for pretty much the reasons Carl so colorfully described.

Personally, I've been using the 'Cold Brew' by Lipton.....2 bags in my 1/2 gallon jar gives me my allowed daily intake of caffeine. I think it's healthier than my normal 6 or 7 diet colas. I kinda quit making it for the family as no one else seems to know how to either wash out a gallon jar or brew some themselves. Tough love!!

Including myself, I've had five people try this concentrate and so far we agree, it tastes pretty much the same as what used to sit in the gallon jar.

Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_tea) what wikipedia says about sweet tea. When we go to Minnesota, my daughter goes through sweet tea withdrawal.

[vharrison]

Wow, I thought sweet tea was a southern thang. Down here, a waitress won't ask you if you want sweet tea, but when we go to Georgia, they do. You wont sweeeet tea?

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Tea is tea where I come from.......it's only you guys who insist on 'icing' it.....or dumping it in the harbour. :/:

[OTGBOSTON]

Tea is tea where I come from.......it's only you guys who insist on 'icing' it.....or dumping it in the harbour. :/:

:big-bow:

[sotc]

hmmm might need to do that again:/:

[Paul B]

we brew up a pot of tea and just put it in the fridge to cool. We use green tea or one of the fruit teas. sometimes a bit of sugar or splenda at the cup to sweeten it.

[JamesTX]

I drink sun tea. But, I'll also kiss my kids on the lips, let the dog lick my face, and invoke the 5 second rule for dropped food.

[hmm]

I do the green tea instead of the harbor dumped type - just no sugar or lemon - plain here over ice

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Just think, The Boston Tea Party was over a 3% tax.....you lot wanna get 'dumping' again.

[lumberjack]

I drink sun tea. But, I'll also kiss my kids on the lips, let the dog lick my face, and invoke the 5 second rule for dropped food.

Where's the advantage to sun tea over more refined brewing methods? Does the flora of the tea add a distinctive flavour?

[sotc]

easy, you dont heat up the house, just set it out before work and its ready when you get home

[lumberjack]

So why not just put it in the fridge? Same effect, less floranated tea, and even more energy savings.

[sotc]

not sure what floranated is but seems some heat should be involved but maybe not

[RentalDude]

Anyone know how many regular tea bags it takes to equal a family sized tea bag?

[lumberjack]

Floranate was an attempted pun at the bacteria that multiplies in sun tea.

I'll put a tea bag in a glass of water tonight, sticking it in the fridge. I'll report back in the morning if it worked or not.

Sorry Jerry, aint got a clue.

[lumberjack]

I was suprised, I didn't expect to see much this morning.


9 hours at 33-34*. There was ice forming on the top of the water. "Very strong" tea.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/10mmsheepdog/DSC05034.jpg

[sotc]

my last touch of hippy...... gone :cry:

[mryb]

I was suprised, I didn't expect to see much this morning. 9 hours at 33-34*. There was ice forming on the top of the water. "Very strong" tea.


Is the black stuff in the bottom of the glass the bacteria you were talking about? I just want to make sure what Im looking for...Thanx/Rick

[lumberjack]

No, it's more concentrated tea. I left that in the fridge over night (9 hours), thus no/minimal bacteria can develop at a degree or two above freezing.

[Che]

Floride is added to water to help with tooth decay (Floride...florinated), Chloride is added to water to help with bacteria in the water (Chloride....chlorinated)

3 regular sized tea bags = 1 family sized tea bag.

I usually use 4 FSbags per gallon of regularly brewed iced tea

Good experiment, Carl. Did it taste as strong as brewed?

[lumberjack]

E is right about florInated, I said florAnated. If I had been somewhat witty, I would have more aptly said faunated, but it doesn't have the same ring to it.

It was way stronger than normal, then again it was a 1FS in 8-10oz of water.

I still figure it'd be a less efficient (in terms of tea extracted from the bags) than brewing, and you'd still need to heat the water to dissolve the sugar, so I'll probably keep brewing.

[RentalDude]

Thanks Che for the help all I have is the regular size bags.

[Tucker943]

I drink tea however it is served to me. I personally dont give a shit how its made. No form of tea has ever made me sick. I eat plenty of cheese day to day. That there is bacteria. better yet, how bout beer or wine. Plenty of organisms there. I'm no scientist, but I know the body can deal with a certain level of bacteria. I am looking forward to giving that tea concentrate a rip.
When i stop and think about sun-brewed tea, it does seem a bit less sanitary than conventional brewing, but, it never gave me the least bit of trouble.

[lumberjack]

You do realize there's different kinds of bacteria right? Bacteria isn't an ambiguous word that doesn't effect our daily lives (mostly in a positive way).

[Tucker943]

Yes, i am very aware of the fact that we have harmful and beneficial bacteria. So far, never had any sun brewed tea that made me aware of the fact that it had harmful bacteria. I'll keep drinking though. maybe one day a case of the shits will teach me a lesson.
In the mean time, I'm certain that the bacteria that lives under the ends of our finger nails is more dangerous than a glass of old-fashioned tea. Just my opinion.

[hmm]

why not brew the tea as you would brew coffee - same pot and all - Mister coffee turns to tea. then cool down or ice.

I perfer water

back to my cave. . . .

[MasterBlaster]

I prefer coffee in my cave.

[stehansen]

I prefer coffee in my cave.

Me too.

[RentalDude]

I've never been much of a coffee drinker in fact I don't own a coffee maker. Brewing tea on the stove really does heat up my whole apartment and is not something I like to do when the weather is already making me melt.
Carl as for steaping tea in the fridge...I need to look into this more but using a family size tea bag to get a 10 or 12 oz glass of tea? I'd like try using a single regular size bag. I like flavored teas and they are a bit too spendy to use three bags for one glass. Also I don't take sugar in my tea but those who do may find the fridge brewed tea less the ideal.
There maybe some risk in drinking sun brewed tea but I bet more people in my town have died crossing the street at the wrong time then from a glass or two of sun brew.

[Paul B]

we have an electric kettle, boil up a couple liters water, pour it over a couple tea bags in the Bodum (http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=1&GID=3&LID=555&CHK=&SLT=&mscssid=FBRN8DRSQ4958N6PHLJCAUKHS9W2BPB8) and let it sit for a while, remove bags, put Bodum in the fridge and enjoy as you will. whats so tough?

[sotc]

thats cause you dont have sun up there:P

[Paul B]

its just a short season is all, the last two days we have been near 30 degrees!

[lumberjack]

...Carl as for steaping tea in the fridge...I need to look into this more but using a family size tea bag to get a 10 or 12 oz glass of tea?...

Jerry I used a glass because it was handy. The tea was way stronger than I would drink. If you'd like I could try our regular recipe (3 FS packs per gallon) tonight and see how it goes. I'll add sugar later assuming it works out.

A tea brewer costs $20 and has a fairly low heat output (more efficient than a pot methinks).


My comments regarding sun tea are for my volumetric self. Beginning of supper last night, this was full, meaning I had 122-124oz with my jumbalia and crackers w/ deviled ham.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/10mmsheepdog/DSC05035.jpg

[Che]

New twist on the concentrate.....I've gone through a couple gallons since I first tried it. I like it, REALLY cut down on the diet colas. But it was a PITA to keep measuring....I took a cow tag marker (paint pen) and marked my big plastic tea glass at 1-1/4 cup, then put another mark at 2 cups.

Now I just pour it in and be done with it. :D

[Skwerl]

why not brew the tea as you would brew coffee - same pot and all - Mister coffee turns to tea. then cool down or ice.

I prefer water

back to my cave. . . .
Bump for this thread-
I use a second coffee maker for making tea now. Tea leaves a residue in the coffeemaker which will affect the flavor of the coffee IMO. I buy the regular tea bags instead of the 'family size' because they are about half the cost. And instead of just piling the tea bags in the basket, I use a coffee filter and cut open the tea bags, dumping the loose tea into the filter. This way I only need 9-10 bags to make a gallon of tea (each pot is a half gallon, I run two pots of water through the tea).

I'm trying to gradually reduce the amount of sugar I use also. Store bought tea is way too sweet but unsweetened tea is undrinkable and sugar won't dissolve in cold tea. I was using about a cup per gallon, now I'm down to about 3/4 cup.