Errors to avoid when preparing a homemade iced tea

Homemade iced tea has become an essential drink, particularly appreciated when temperatures climb. Sancer and economical than industrial sodas, it also offers a multitude of flavors. However, it frequently happens that some make common mistakes that can spoil this refreshing drink. Let's discover together how to avoid these traps to fully enjoy your homemade iced tea.

Infuse tea too long: watch out for bitterness!

The most frequent error is undoubtedly to infuse your tea for too long. When the tea leaves remain in contact with hot water more than necessary, they release an excessive amount of tannins, responsible for this very unpleasant bitter taste.

To avoid this, respect the infusion time indicated: in general, 2 to 3 minutes are enough for a green tea, while a black tea will require between 3 to 5 minutes. For a softer taste, also remember to test the cold infusion. This method requires more time (about 8 to 12 hours in the fridge) but offers a delicate taste, without bitterness.

Use poor quality tea

The choice of tea is crucial to obtain a tasty drink. Even using tea sachets, prefer those of high quality to cheap sachets. The sachets offer an ease of use and a homogeneous infusion while being very practical for rapid preparation and without waste.

Opt for recognized brand sachets that guarantee superior quality tea and more authentic aromas. Some teas lend themselves particularly well to icy tea, such as sencha green tea, Ceylon black tea, oolong, or even rooibos, naturally soft and caffeine.

A bad dosage: too little or too much tea

A classic error is to dose tea badly, causing either an infusion too light and without flavor, or a drink that is too concentrated and astringent. The general rule is to use a tea bag per cup of water (about 250 ml).

For an ice version, do not hesitate to prepare a slightly stronger tea so that it keeps its taste after cooling and dilution by ice cubes. You can also make a concentrate of iced tea to dilute gradually according to your desires. This method will allow you to better control the final taste.

Add too much ice cubes and dilute the tea

Adding ice cubes directly to the tea still hot or even at room temperature can considerably dilute your drink, making it bland and tasteless. To avoid this trap, remember to cool your tea beforehand before serving it with a few ice cubes.

Gourmet tip: make tea ice cubes to avoid any additional dilution. Simply pour some of the tea prepared in an ice cube tray and place it in the freezer. Result: a perfectly cool drink, without alteration of taste.

Sweet only with white sugar

Many automatically think of white sugar to sweeten their iced tea, which is a frequent error. Indeed, white sugar is difficult to dissolve cold and may stay at the bottom of the glass.

Prefer natural alternatives such as honey, agave syrup, or even a homemade sugar syrup prepared in advance. Fresh fruits infused in your tea (lemon, fishing, raspberry) are also a great way to bring a subtle sweetness, without resorting to refined sugar.

Do not respect the water temperature

Too hot water can literally "burn" tea leaves, releasing unpleasant bitterness and altering the subtle aromas of tea. Each type of tea has an ideal infusion temperature:

Green tea: 70 to 80 ° C
White tea: about 75 ° C
Black tea: around 85 to 95 ° C
Cold infusion: cold water directly from the tap or filtered.

To be precise, use a kitchen thermometer or simply let the water stand a few minutes after boiling before immersing your tea.

Poorly keep your frozen tea

Finally, a current but often neglected error concerns the conservation of your homemade iced tea. An icy tea left at room temperature for too long or poorly preserved in the fridge can ferment or quickly lose its delicate flavors.

The best way to keep your iced tea is to transfer it to a hermetic glass bottle or carafe and place it in the refrigerator, out of light and ambient air. It is recommended to consume it ideally within 48 hours to fully enjoy its freshness and flavors.

To summarize

By avoiding these simple but frequent errors, you will certainly get a delicious, fresh, and perfectly balanced homemade homemade tea. Remember that the preparation of a good frozen tea is based on a few essential elements: the choice of a quality tea bag, compliance with infusion time, an adapted temperature, optimal conservation, and carefully selected additional ingredients.

Now that you know the traps to avoid, you play to prepare a perfect homemade iced tea, which will surely delight your taste buds and those of your guests all summer!

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