Love real homemade iced tea? But wish you could have it without the caffeine, the sweeteners, and the big production? Looking for an interesting beverage to serve at a summer afternoon gathering? Wish the kids would drink anything at all without sugar in it? Well you can have all that and drink it too. Today there is a wonderful array of delicious, caffeine-free, naturally sweet, herbal teas on the market, and you can turn them into refreshing summer coolers in no time.
In the culinary world, herbs are usually relegated to the role of condiment, adding flavor but rarely standing on their own. Not so with herbal teas, where the intensity, diversity and complexity of their flavors truly shine. A wide variety of herbs both common and exotic can be found in today’s tea blends. Many of them are sweet without sweeteners, and many have the added benefit of the healthful properties of the herbs. And they contain zero calories.
But are they difficult to find, select and brew? Not in the least, as you shall see.
Bags vs. Loose Tea
In our busy world it seems almost no one brews tea from loose leaves anymore, probably because the companies that make teabags have convinced us that it is far less convenient to do so. While obtaining loose herbal teas may be a bit less convenient, there is almost no additional effort involved in brewing them. Even obtaining them has become easier because of the Internet and because of the expansion of natural food supermarkets like Whole Foods.
To arrive at our list of great tasting teas, we tested many varieties of both packaged and loose herbals. All of them were brewed using this quick and simple method:
For each glass of iced tea you want to make, fill a standard size coffee mug with boiling water and either two teabags or two teaspoons of loose tea.
Steep for five minutes. If using teabags, discard the bags and pour the tea into a tall glass about two thirds filled with ice. If using loose tea just pour the tea through a strainer into the glass.
As you can see, the only special equipment required for using loose tea is a strainer. A piece of cheesecloth or even a coffee filter will also work; just push them down into the glass a bit to make a well to catch the herbs. There are of course lots of tea-making gadgets you can buy, including tea balls, infuser spoons and special teapots. They make a lovely presentation and if you’re a real tea lover you may want to try some of these things, but they really aren’t necessary.
Brewing Tips
Boiled water makes better iced tea than water zapped in the microwave. But boiling doesn’t have to be a long waiting game. If you’re making only a glass or two, put just enough water in the kettle for what you need and it will boil in only a few minutes. Or, consider investing in an electric kettle. These come in a variety of prices, but the more inexpensive ones work beautifully and they really do boil water faster.
Because you will be pouring hot tea over ice, much of your ice will melt quickly and dilute your tea. Doubling the amount of tea usually makes it sufficiently strong to hold its flavor, although for some blends more may be required. When in doubt always err on the side of making it too strong, you can always dilute with more water. The glass you use should be at least twice as big as the mug holding the hot tea because the ice will increase the volume.
Love real homemade iced tea? But wish you could have it without the caffeine, the sweeteners, and the big production? Looking for an interesting beverage to serve at a summer afternoon gathering? Wish the kids would drink anything at all without sugar in it? Well you can have all that and drink it too. Today there is a wonderful array of delicious, caffeine-free, naturally sweet, herbal teas on the market, and you can turn them into refreshing summer coolers in no time.
In the culinary world, herbs are usually relegated to the role of condiment, adding flavor but rarely standing on their own. Not so with herbal teas, where the intensity, diversity and complexity of their flavors truly shine. A wide variety of herbs both common and exotic can be found in today’s tea blends. Many of them are sweet without sweeteners, and many have the added benefit of the healthful properties of the herbs. And they contain zero calories.
But are they difficult to find, select and brew? Not in the least, as you shall see.
Bags vs. Loose Tea
In our busy world it seems almost no one brews tea from loose leaves anymore, probably because the companies that make teabags have convinced us that it is far less convenient to do so. While obtaining loose herbal teas may be a bit less convenient, there is almost no additional effort involved in brewing them. Even obtaining them has become easier because of the Internet and because of the expansion of natural food supermarkets like Whole Foods.
To arrive at our list of great tasting teas, we tested many varieties of both packaged and loose herbals. All of them were brewed using this quick and simple method: