iced tea

[Christ_empowered]

yeah, me...yet again.

im just now getting to DIY, iced tea...and I'm 34. And a lifelong southerner. a lil slow to go...maybe. and yet....

I'm making up for lost time! I've gone from using all kindsa smaller tea bags (10+ at a time) to just -1- big ole 'gallon size' tea bag from Red Diamond. I didn't know there were such massive tea bags in the stores until...well, obviously, I stumbled upon it.

I think I like this Red Diamond brand. its black tea. for a minute, i was making a lot of plantation mint, which, in addition to being deliciously politically incorrect (did I mention I coupled it with Aunt Jemima pancakes and syrup in the AM? hehehe...but not really), is awesome iced because of the mint factor. but...

yeah. Red Diamond. I think its tops, but I don't actually know much 'bout teas. I'm considering getting a tea ball and buying loose tea from my online, discount supplement place. a switch to rooibos might mean less caffeine.

rambling...do y'all do the iced tea thing, or hot tea? any favorites? quick concoctions the rest of us could try?

Thanks.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Yes I like ice tea and hot tea. Just don't tell JohnDB about this thread. (Yes I tagged him on purpose as a joke. :tongue)

 

[JohnDB]

Yes I like ice tea and hot tea. Just don't tell JohnDB about this thread. (Yes I tagged him on purpose as a joke. :tongue)

Oh I like tea...
As soon as I have consumed enough coffee I like tea.
Hot and cold.
I like some really strange teas too. I have a collection. Some from Egypt, China, India and Europe. All of it's good.
Tea is the "House Wine" of the South.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Oh I like tea...
As soon as I have consumed enough coffee I like tea.
Hot and cold.
I like some really strange teas too. I have a collection. Some from Egypt, China, India and Europe. All of it's good.
Tea is the "House Wine" of the South.

Lol! The way you carry on sometimes I think you have too much coffee. You turn into these little guys. XD! Don't worry so do I and I don't even drink it. By the way, margaritas are a LOT better than wine in my humble opinion. :wink

 

[Christ_empowered]

black tea turns out to be potentially healthful. i say potentially because overdoing it with sweetener kinda ruins the benefits. but...

i cant do green tea. used to take the extract in caps (inexpensive, "good for you," etc.) but then there were cases popping up of liver toxicity...rare, but...not worth the risk. and so...

that leaves black tea (it is The South, after all) and maybe red/rooibos. the red stuff is actually herbal, no caffeine, minimal tannins, no need for a sweetener...

loose, in bulk, not to $pendy, but in big box stores, individually wrapped...nah, not worth it.

im a coffee man, too. i actually bought a big ole canister of the mccafe stuff, because its arabica at a cut rate...

good times! beats the arabica blend from aldi, no doubt.

 

[WIP]

If I lived in the south where you do, I'd be making sun tea. We do that here but we have to wait until about July before the weather warms up enough to do a good job.

 

[Christ_empowered]

thats brilliant. i havent done that in ages...

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

thats brilliant. i havent done that in ages...

Me neither.

 

[JohnDB]

Teas are, pound per pound, more efficient than coffee ever dreamed of being.
Meaning that the water is of crucial importance.
Tea creates a supersaturated solution chemically speaking. Meaning in layman's terms that it can go cloudy in a heartbeat... especially if sugar is introduced.

Sun tea is popular in the NorthWest. The cold brewing leaves certain flavors out but does pull out other flavors. But most of the time the water is some of the best sweetest well water I've ever had. (City water sucks)

Here in the South East...water has too much limestone to be great. It makes great distilled spirits but that's about it.

But I do like green tea, white tea, brown tea and black tea.

Tea is kinda like honey. It's a regional thing. Different areas prefer different teas and produce them.

Green tea (as well as white) is the same as regular tea but the leaves aren't fermented (rotted) before drying. The fermenting actually increases certain flavors in the tea leaves. But it is easier on the digestive system. Still has all the caffeine. White teas have less chlorophyll...for an even lighter flavor.

Indian teas can have more caffeine than any energy drink thought they had. Indian teas also can have more flowery, perfume type aroma.

Chinese teas, more black than anything else, are usually fairly concentrated flavor wise... extreme prudence is called for when brewing a pot or cup. Most have a similar distinctive flavor associated with what you get at a Chinese restaurant.

As always, loose leaf teas are better than what comes in the bags with strings. The bags usually contain some portion of instant tea vx pure leaf that the loose leaf teas do not.
Tea infusers aren't expensive and clean up is easy if done shortly after use.

Tea pots...whole nother thing. A whole world surrounding these things.

Hot tea needs to be hot or it isn't worthy to be sipped.

Cold tea has a thing about when the sugar is introduced. Doing it while hot usually isn't as good as when already chilled. (Dulls the flavor and aroma) but it's immensely more work to accomplish when cold. Artificial sweeteners can have detrimental effects to the delicate flavors of teas. So saving the artificial sweeteners for common teas (red diamond and Lipton) is appropriate.

And maybe I've suggested this... maybe not...but a visit to a local Indian Spice shop is actually not a bad thing. I have fond memories of a "pinkish" colored tea with honey and it's perfume reminded me of......another time and place.

Some memories just have to have a flavor to remember them clearly.

 

[Christ_empowered]

this is...amazingly helpful. thank you. i dont think i'll ever go way deep into the world of teas, but...this is helpful information.

 

[WIP]

Ever try using distilled water to make tea or coffee? I never have but the thought just occurred to me.

 

[JohnDB]

Ever try using distilled water to make tea or coffee? I never have but the thought just occurred to me.

Yes, and it's better.
But it's also a hassle.

I miss the mountain water from the Northwest. But I ain't going to hop a flight to Wyoming, Idaho, or Washington or Oregon anytime soon.

I've been looking to go to the Florida keys to try out some scuba diving...my wife wants to go to the Smokies for synchronous fireflies.

 

[WIP]

You could try bottled water. I know many of Nestle Waters' brands are sourced from ground springs in Maine, the Appalachians, and Michigan. Just go to their website and search out their brands and you'll find descriptions. We have a lot of packaging machinery with them.

Aquafina uses a reverse osmosis purification system for their water.

 

[JohnDB]

You could try bottled water. I know many of Nestle Waters' brands are sourced from ground springs in Maine, the Appalachians, and Michigan. Just go to their website and search out their brands and you'll find descriptions. We have a lot of packaging machinery with them.

Aquafina uses a reverse osmosis purification system for their water.

I'm thinking about a filtration system for coffee, tea, and drinking.
It would be cheaper and easier to work with than lugging water up the stairs into this place.
I've seen the Britta system which is commonly available in grocery stores. Pure also is another brand name. I'm wondering if there's another one that might be better for less money. (Things like this are a game to my wife and I)
I've seen ones that attach to the faucet or the sink in the kitchen. (But changing cartridges is a pain) my MIL still uses one attached to her sink that should have been changed 10 years ago... and they still haven't. Water barely trickles out of the thing and they buy tons of bottled water.

The search for something sustainable is still ongoing. But it has been kicking around in my head for awhile now.

 

[Christ_empowered]

i try to use the big 1 gallon jugs of purified drinking water, conveniently available...anywhere, usually mine is from WalMart. nothing fancy, but man oh man...

for a while there, the chemicals in the tap water 'round here were so toxic, one of mama's colleagues lost all the fish in her kids' aquarium...

she filled it up with tap water, per usual, plus the aquarium water chemicals (clearly, I don't know much about this) and then...the fish died. fabulous. :-(