Three Easy Iced Tea Methods

I love iced teas in the summer, they are easy to prepare and super refreshing. I've been having fun experimenting with various chilly tea-brewing methods and posting them to Instagram, and I've had many people ask me about the techniques! Here are three easy ways to have cool, refreshing teas: cold brewed, shaker chilled, and fizzy brewed. 

Cold Brewed Tea

Nothing beats a crisp cup of cold brewed tea on a hot day. It's simple to make, and just requires a little time to brew to your desired strength.

Necessary Equipment: A pitcher or vessel to brew the tea in. I love using something like this for my fridge, as it makes a large amount of tea and has a nice stopper to keep it covered. The glass is also quite strong and sturdy. Optional: loose leaf tea filters like these.

For something a little more elegant, I have a few of these, for smaller batches. They are beautiful and are great for presentation. They also fit the shelf on the fridge door.

Directions: Add about 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea per cup of water- either directly into a pitcher or into a loose leaf tea filter. Fill up with water and pop into the fridge. Brew at least 8-12 hours, but you can go longer with great results. Strain the leaves as you pour the tea if you left them in the pitcher.

Notes: Many oxidized and roasted teas won't get bitter or over-brewed this way so you can brew as long as you like. White teas also seem to do well with a long brew. Greener teas may become a bit astringent if left too long, so taste every few hours and see what you think. Don't forget to try herbals with this, as they work just as well. You can also use teabags for cold brewing, just add 2 teabags per cup of water.

If you want to sweeten your tea, make a simple syrup mixture instead of using sugar. This will dissolve fully and give you a better tasting sip.  To make simple syrup: combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Gently bring to a boil and stir until dissolved. Cool fully and you can leave in the fridge until you need to sweeten your tea.

Shaker Chilled Tea

I wrote about this flash chilling method a few years ago, and recently noticed that Té Company posted their own version, reminding me give it another try. It's a great way to have a strong cup of iced tea with an amazing texture.

Necessary Equipment: A cocktail shaker (I have this one) or a jar with a good fitting lid, ice, spoon.

Directions: Make a small pot of a double-strength hot brewed tea (if you normally use 1 tsp of tea or 1 teabag per cup of water, make it 2), brew for 10 minutes and allow to cool to room temperature. Fill about 1/3 of a cocktail shaker with ice, and pour in the tea. Shake like crazy! Té Company recommends at least 33 shakes, and I say go for more. The more you shake, the more froth you'll get. When you're done shaking, remove the lid and pour into a glass. Most shakers have a strainer-like top, be sure not to pour through this or you can damage the beautiful froth.

Notes: You can pour over ice, but I enjoy the texture of the foam without the interruption of the ice cubes.

Use a spoon to get all of that foamy goodness out of the shaker!

If you want to sweeten this brew, add some simple syrup to the ingredients in the shaker, before you shake.

Fizzy Brewed Tea

This is my newest obsession! A refreshing, festive drink that doesn't need any added sweeteners. It's as easy to make as a regular cold-brew, and is super festive and refreshing. Plus, if you're a fan of those fizzy flavored seltzers, these are a great alternative without any questionable added 'natural flavor'. I think I first came across the idea for this method from In Pursuit Of Tea's Instagram post.

Necessary Equipment: A small bottle of sparking water or seltzer. Or prepare a bottle of carbonated water if you have a SodaStream. I prefer smaller bubbles, so I use sparkling water. But go with what you like best.

Directions: Uncap a small bottle of  bubbly water and add about 1 tsp of tea per 1 cup of water. You can err on the side of less tea here, and see how you like it. It's easy to add more next time, instead of having a brew that is too strong. Put the cap back on, and leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Have a taste, and see if it's ready. Not yet? Try another hour or two. Simply pour through a strainer into your glass and enjoy.

Notes: Herbal teas work great for this preparation, as do teas with floral and fruity flavors.

The tea seems to infuse much quicker in carbonated water than in still water. This is helpful since you don't want to go 8+ hours of brew time and risk loosing fizz.

If you don't want to steep directly into your fizzy water, you can make a standard cold-brew and add a few splashes of fizzy to your cup for some bubbly goodness.

I used 'Limonata Rosa' from Tielka Tea for my fizzy tea in the photo above, and the beautiful color makes it look like pink champagne! It's sweet, fruity, and beautifully floral. Such a festive sip!

Oolong Hai Tea Cocktail Recipe

It's tea cocktail time! Have you heard of an oolong hai? It's a deliciously refreshing Japanese tea cocktail that is super simple to make. You just need three ingredients- cold oolong tea, shochu, and ice.

What Is An Oolong Hai Tea Cocktail?
Oolong hai is a drink popular at izakaya restaurants and karaoke bars in Japan. I've had it at a few local Japanese places here in NY, and I just love the earthy, refreshing flavor. I'm imagining sitting out on our little patio in the springtime, listening to the birds and sipping an oolong hai.

The drink is called a 'hai', because it's short for 'highball'. A highball is basically whiskey with a mixer. The oolong hai is reminiscent of the original drink, with an interesting spin using shochu and tea. I find the oolong hai to be a bit more delicate than a highball. Depending on the variety of shochu you use the drink can be quite subtle, allowing the oolong tea to shine through.

Oolong Hai Ingredients
First, let's talk about the shochu. Shochu is a Japanese distilled liquor, usually made from sweet potato (imo), barley (mugi), or rice (kome). Each one has a different flavor, which will slightly change the overall flavor profile of your cocktail. Finding shochu may not be as simple as going to the liquor store. You may need to call around to see which store near you carries it. I had to visit a few stores until I found one that had it (I should have called ahead!). But you can also order it online, and as with any other liquor there are different grades and price points.

Of course, you'll also need an oolong tea. From everything I've seen, a medium to heavier-oxidized/roasted oolong is a good choice. I wouldn't use anything floral here, but you could certainly try one and see how it works. I decided to use a Muzha Tieguanyin for my cocktail, mainly because I had it in the house. Dong ding would work nicely too, whatever darker oolong you've got. I like to do a cold brewed tea, but if you don't want to wait, you can brew the tea to double strength and ice it.

Oolong Hai Tea Cocktail Recipe
The recipe is super simple! The basic recipe is six parts tea to four parts shochu.

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour over 120ml of shochu, then add 180ml of tea. Stir and enjoy!

Additions and Substitutions To Your Oolong Hai
If you feel like changing out the type of tea, you can make a sencha hai, which is also a popular drink and I'm sure it would be just as refreshing. I keep thinking hojicha would be a delicious substitution, which I'm going to try next!

If you'd like this to be closer to a classic highball you can add a fizzy component such as club soda or even ginger ale. A squeeze of lemon would also make it a nice summertime drink. It can be tailored to whatever flavors you feel like adding, since the shochu is so subtle.

Have you encountered any other interesting oolong hai cocktails? I'd love to hear your experience with them. Kanpai!

Shake It Up! How To Flash-Chill Your Tea

We're in the middle of a heat wave here in NYC, and iced tea has been on the menu for a few days. I usually have a cold-brew going in the fridge all summer long, but sometimes I get a craving for a particular tea iced and I don't have the patience to wait a few hours. That's where flash-chilling comes to the rescue! It's similar to brewing a tea hot at extra strength, and chilling it. But it's way more fun.

What You'll Need:
-Tea of your choice (either 1-2 large tea bags or 2 tbsp loose tea) and 10 ounces of water. I used Good & Proper Iced Hibiscus Tea With Rose Hip And Ginger for this post.
-Steeping vessel (I use a small teapot or even a large mug)
-Cocktail shaker or large durable jar with a tight-sealing lid (you will be shaking ice in there, so make sure it won't break)
-Ice

Step 1: brew about your tea as you normally would- I usually make it double strength, so about 2 tbsp of tea for 10 ounces of water. You don't want to put too much water in the cocktail shaker, as you want to fill it with lots of ice!

Step 2: Add 1 1/2 cup of ice to a cocktail shaker, and then pour in the tea.

Step 3: Shake! And Shake! And Shake! The more vigorously you shake, the more foam you'll create.

Step 4: Pour out the brew into a glass with some ice, making sure to get all of the foamy goodness. I've noticed it's easier to take off the entire top of the shaker to get all of the foam. Taking off just the little cap does not allow the foam to pour out as easily, at least with my cocktail shaker.

pouring with the cap on my shaker doesn't allow enough foam to come through

Tips:
I like to pour my tea into either tall iced tea glasses, or champagne coupe glasses. The coupe just makes things look a bit classier, don't you think?

You can garnish with fruit or herbs. I like to actually use edible leaves and flowers for a more unique look. I grow nasturtiums in my garden and both the leaves and flowers are edible. You can plan them from seeds and they with start growing within a couple of weeks. Flash-chilling tea is also a great way to make a tea cocktail. Just add your booze of choice before you shake it up.

hibiscus tea with nasturtium leaves

That's it! So now you know how to create delicious, elegant looked flash-chilled teas. You can customize them in all sorts of ways, and are a great way to serve iced tea to a crowd. I'd love to know what combinations you come up with, please feel free to share either in the comments, or on Instagram.

American Tea History: Who Sipped Iced Tea First?

It's time for more tea history! This weekend we're jetting off to Charleston for spring break, and I imagine we'll be inundated by sweet tea. When I think about iced tea in America, Southern 'sweet tea' immediately comes to mind. I'm not a huge fan of sweet tea myself, but it got me wondering about the history of iced tea in the US so I did a little bit of research and found a few interesting tidbits. It seems iced tea may not have been invented in the south, but let's look at some of the evidence...

Tasting: Kumagawa from Mellow Monk

In NYC the season changes from spring, to sweltering hot and humid. There isn't much of a ramp up to summer; damp and unbearably hot seems to happen overnight. I like to drink hot tea year round, even on the hottest days but when that humidity gets unbearable, only a cold tea will do. I like to cold brew most of my teas. It's super easy to do and imparts a very smooth flavor. Jee of Oh How Civilized recently published a great how-to on cold brew, check it out here if you need a tutorial.

When I was recently given the choice of samples to review from Mellow Monk tea, Kumagawa caught my eye. This lightly roasted green tea comes in cold-brewable sachets, made for the fridge. I don't normally go for bagged teas but I love cold-brewed hojicha and Paul from Mellow Monk said it was a bit lighter than hojicha, but very refreshing. How could I say no to that? 

This green tea comes from tea maker Kazuo Watanabe, a grower and artisan in Kumamoto. The dry leaf is nutty and roasty, very similar to hojicha. It has a slight something different, something a bit more pungent, but it's difficult to describe. The Mellow Monk site describes a 'hickory' note, so that's what I'll say it is. It's a bit woody but something more savory. Actually the aroma is a bit smoky too, which leads me to think this tea would be good in a barbecue sauce. I'll have to think about that a bit...

I added 3 sachets for a 2 quart pitcher. This is a little more than suggested but I like my iced tea super strong. I popped it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours, and ended up with an extremely refreshing tea. I accidentally left the bags in the pitcher overnight and it was just as good after about 9 more hours of steeping. The brew never got bitter or overpowering. It's nutty, slightly grassy, has a little hint of what I imagine is 'hickory' and smoke, and is extremely refreshing. My family and I have been drinking this tea all week, and I took it on a walk through the park on a typical disgustingly hot, soupy day. It takes a powerful tea to cut through the NYC haze, and this one did the trick. 

This tea is light enough to reach for throughout the day. I don't think I'd start my day with it as I like something with a bit more body and heft, but this is a great choice for mid-morning, through to the evening. It can also be brewed hot, which I haven't tried yet since I love it so much out of the fridge.

To learn more about this tea you can visit the Mellow Monk website here. Thank you to Paul for the sample! I have a few more to review, can't wait to try them.

Tasting: Tracy Stern Tea & Co Iced Tea No. 6 Worth

It's been humid and grey in NYC today, so we are cheering up with some iced tea made with @2teaparty1 and beachy reminders! #tea #icedtea #VSCOcam

A photo posted by sara shacket (@tea_happiness) on Jul 8, 2015 at 4:25pm PDT

This week's tasting is from Tracy Stern Tea & Co, a company showcasing blends specifically made for iced tea. The blends are categorized by location -NY, Paris, and Palm Beach. I was given a choice of tea to sample, and I chose 'No. 6 Worth' which is from the Palm Beach collection. This is a black tea and raspberry blend. I usually shy away from flavored blends, but when it comes to iced tea, I tend to be a bit more adventurous. I often find fruity flavors work well with cold teas. Very unlike me, I know!

I received an eye catching bright pink tin, a color quite suitable for Palm Beach. The tin contains 6 very large tea bags. These are made to be used for 8 cups of iced tea. The ingredients list black tea, raspberry leaf, strawberry leaf, and natural flavoring.

The dry tea has a very strong 'berry' flavor that I've come to recognize from 'berry' blends. It's hard to say if it was specifically raspberry, but ripe red berries definitely come to mind. The directions note to steep the bag in 2 cups of hot water for 12 minutes, and then pour in 6 cups of cold water. I love cold brewing tea so I tried that first. I left the teabag in 8 cups of water overnight. The resulting tea had a strong berry flavor. Juicy, a little tart, and a bit of sweetness. But there was also a strange aftertaste that I couldn't identify. For the second round I followed the directions on the package to make the iced tea. I was surprised that the results were much better. The berry flavor was full and smooth. It's more on the subtle side, which some folks may not appreciate but I prefer it for flavored blends. This way the added flavor isn't punching you in the face. My contact at the company mentioned I could steep the tea in the full 8 cups of water for 15 minutes for a stronger brew. I was fine with these results though.

My family gave this tea a thumb's up. This is a fun go-to tea flavor for backyard sprinkler play-dates and beach picnics. I still prefer pure teas even for iced, but I'm happy to have tried something a bit different.

Thank you to Tracy Stern Tea & Co for the samples.

NYC Iced Tea review, and Suggestions!

Iced black tea from Cold Process

Happy 1st Day of Summer! I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about places for Iced Tea. First up, a review of a new one. On a gorgeously warm day I recently visited the pop-up Cold Process Coffee & Tea at Pier 57. This cheerful spot is located right near Chelsea Piers and a stone's throw from Chelsea Market. It's a difficult place to find, but if you just look past the highway towards the water at Pier 57 you can't miss the turquoise structure. When I was there they were offering an iced green as well as black. They cold steep the tea for 24 hours and the result is a strong brew that is smooth as can be. Not even the slightest hint of bitterness. Add a wedge of lemon and you're ready for refreshment. The tea and coffee come from Lamill, which I had read about but never tried. The black tea was so perfect that I look forward to tasting more. The friendly salesperson gave me two sample tea bags to try, and I can't wait to steep them. Review soon!

You may even spy a celebrity enjoying a drink here, Jake Gyllenhaal and Philip Seymour Hoffman are among the celebs recently spotted there. This is a great spot to take a break if you are cycling down the west side, or meandering the High Line on a hot day.

Where do you go for Iced Tea in NYC? You can visit almost any cafe and get a serving to go, but here are some of my favorites to try:

Press Tea- all of their tea preparations can be made iced. You really cannot choose poorly here! Delicious!

Harney & Sons Soho- Some of the best quality teas around, a solid choice for an iced tea.

Cold Process Coffee & Tea- as you can see from my review above, a great place for an iced tea near the pier.

DAVIDsTEA- their teas never disappoint, and there is always a refreshing flavor to try iced.

Kanlo Tea- A perfect place to pick up an iced tea and sit by the water in Tribeca.

Argo Tea- Argo has many different iced varieties, one of my favorites being their bubble tea.

Tea Lounge (Brooklyn)- There are usually a few iced tea selections. The black iced tea is surprisingly strong and tasty.

Culture tea Bar- I haven't been here myself, but it comes highly recommended from a trustworthy source.

Do you have a favorite spot for iced tea that isn't on the list? Please mention it in the comments! Happy Summer!

Steep Thoughts- The 'Holy Orange Tea, Batman!' Edition

Today I found myself in Chelsea Market, and I ordered Thai food for lunch at Chelsea Thai, where they also have Thai grocery items for sale. While I was waiting for my lunch, I noticed they sold Thai tea powder! A huge bag for $5. How could I resist? I rushed back to my office with booty in hand, anticipating a free moment to investigate further.

When a steeping moment arrived, I tore into the package. I was hit with a Thai Iced Tea smell. It's hard to describe, but it's sweet, and tamarind-y with an undertone of spices that I can't recognize. My fingers are stained orange just from opening the package! This is lethal stuff. I was in the office, but just couldn't resist making a cup. I steeped some of the mixture in hot water, and just added 2% milk and sugar. The smell is unmistakable. It's exactly what the Thai Iced Tea in our local restaurants smells like. Very promising!

The taste was a little watery, and not sweet enough. Apparently I was not brave enough to add the proper amount of tea. I added two packets of sugar for a small cup of tea, but it is still nowhere near as sweet as the Thai Iced Tea I've had before. When I get home I'll try using sweetened condensed milk. That should help, and also add the right texture to the drink. But the overall flavor is exactly what I am looking for! How exciting!

This will definitely make the next round of Thai Tea Ice Pops better. OK so it's not exactly an 'all natural' beverage that I usually go for, but it's a fun and tasty occasional treat.You can drink it hot or cold!

A Rarity

If I ever purchase a bottled tea, I usually get one of the wonderful, unsweetened drinks from Ito En. Usually  bottled teas are far too sweet for me. I want to taste a bit of tea with my sugar, which is hardly ever the case with the bottled selection out there. They are also hard to find without added flavorings aside from lemon.

Today while browsing in a local grocery, I noticed a few bottled Argo teas. I've been to the nearby cafe a few times, but never noticed the bottled offerings, as I usually have to get a bubble tea. Most of the teas in the case had something I wasn't interested in, either a flavor, or use of rooibos. But then I noticed the Carolina honey drink. The ingredients were only black tea, cane sugar, honey, and lemon juice concentrate. That sounded promising. I've been burned by this combination before, but I was in the mood to try again.

Upon opening the bottle, the scent of honey immediately hits me. It actually smells like real honey, which is a good thing. But I was still worried about how much was used. The tea tastes very much like the hot tea and honey mixture my mother would give me when I had a sore throat. It is quite sweet, but the taste of actual honey instead of just sugar was very pleasant. A bit of black tea cuts through the sweetness with a bitter bite. The added lemon juice also helps reduce the cloying sweetness. The honey creates a comforting, soft feeling on the tongue. It was strange to drink an iced tea that was so soothing, but of course it worked for me.

This tea is still too sweet to drink on a regular basis, but it is definitely a good one to keep in mind on a hot day. A good choice for National Iced Tea month! The nifty glass container can also be reused, which is always a plus to me.

Attempting Thai Tea Ice Pops

This past weekend I decidced to make Thai iced tea in ice pop form. Aside from finding the time for it, I was faced with several challenges. First, I needed a recipe that used black tea, since I didn't have a prepackaged Thai tea mix. Then I needed to figure out the correct amount of sweet milk to hold up to the freezing process. I also had to to figure out if making Thai tea in pop form even made sense at all. Especially since my daughter is obsessed with ice pops, and I don't want her to see these around the house!

After a little bit of research I decided to use this recipe because it used black tea, and also had some interesting spices. I didn't have evaporated milk, but used sweetened condensed milk, star anise, a few cardamom pods, a piece of cinnamon stick, and a blend of Ceylon, Assam, and Keemun teas that I had on hand. I made about 3 cups of tea, not the 1 cup that this recipe calls for. So I added a little bit more of the ingredients. I boiled the water, steeped the tea and spices for 5 minutes, and then strained into a pitcher to cool. Once it cooled down I added some of the condensed milk. It tasted sweet but not as sweet as it should, so I added a little bit of sugar. The result tasted more like a sweet chai, and not Thai iced tea, but I think it's because of the cardamom.

I have to admit that I was a little afraid of the sweetened condensed milk. I've never worked with it before, and it was very sticky and, well, sweet. It reminded me of a caramel. It was so sweet that I didn't want to use too much of it. I was also hesitant to use cardamom pods, as they are very strong. But I decided to get crazy and just go with it. I felt a little like a mad scientist, just adding a dash here, and a spoonful there. I filled the molds and popped it in the freezer and went on with my day. I checked on it a few hours later, when the kids were ready for bed.

The end result wasn't bad, but it didn't have the familiar taste I was looking for. There was a bitter bite of tea, and a dry feeling on the tongue. The star anise gave a nice hum to the flavor. But it needed to be a little creamier and definitely sweeter. My fear of condensed milk was the main culprit. A great first try though. The pops are still refreshing and definitely taste like tea, even if it is more like masala chai. I think next time I need be more generous with the condensed milk, and sugar. I'll also use less cardamom. I may try to add tamarind if I can find it, and maybe vanilla.

It was a fun first attempt! Not exactly what I was going for, but it gave me the confidence to try again. This may open the door for other tea ice pop ideas... 

Steep Thoughts- the Iced Tea Edition

While enjoying a 'bubble tea' from Argo, I was thinking about the fact that the only sweet iced teas I enjoy are the aforementioned, and Thai Iced Tea. I was browsing my favorite websites while slurping my tea and landed on a tasty looking fudgy ice pop recipe. This is where the little light bulb appeared over my head. This weekend I am going to attempt to make Thai Iced Tea pops!  I do not have traditional Thai red tea (and it is difficult to find without added artificial colors), but I'll use a Chinese black, along with a fairly traditional recipe.

Seems like a perfect way to celebrate National Iced Tea month! Iced tea pop post coming soon...

Have a good weekend!

Of course June is National Iced Tea Month

We've been having a particularly hot week in NYC and it's very appropriate that June is National Iced Tea Month. Even in warmer weather I prefer hot tea to cold, but there are times when I'm just super thirsty and I want to drink my tea quickly. I'm visualizing a very hot day when we've just finished working in our little garden. Icy cold tea is perfect for that occasion.

Iced Tea is also a great replacement for soda drinkers. You can lightly sweeten it up, add fresh mint, fruit juice, extracts, etc. But I like my tea plain and simple. Straight up black tea, nice and strong (the only exception of course is bubble tea!).

We boil a big ol' pot of water, add about 6 teabags, and let it steep for a long time. Sometimes we'll forget about it for an hour or two, and it's still perfect. I don't usually add much ice (if any) because I don't like to dilute the flavor at all. This reminds me of the cold HK tea I had recently. My husband likes lots of ice, and our bold brew holds up well. We've been storing our iced tea in bottles I've used for Kombucha, as they are the perfect size for the fridge. We don't really have room for a huge container.

If sweet tea is your thing, I'd suggest using simple syrup instead of sugar. Sugar does not fully dissolve in cold water, making your iced tea unsweetened at first, and then unbearably sweet at the bottom. Simple syrup is easy to make, and you can just pop it in the fridge to keep on hand all summer long. It's just one part sugar to one part water. So you can use a cup of sugar, and a cup of water, put both ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil, and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool, and you have a perfect sweetener for iced tea.

Feel free to leave your iced tea favorites in the comments!