For years, my preferred method to make iced tea has been to brew it in the Instant Pot, let cool, then pour it over ice. This method produces a very smooth, never bitter iced tea. The down side is waiting for the tea to cool enough to pour over ice without melting it instantly. Well, I have found a new method of brewing iced tea that produces the same smooth, not bitter, tea without having to heat it up and cool it it down.
The method is called cold brewing and it is so easy. Fill your chosen pitcher with water, add the desired amount of tea bags or loose leaf tea, stick it in the fridge, let sit 4 – 24 hours, and drink. The tricky part is knowing how much tea to add. The general wisdom is 1 teabag or 1 teaspoon loose leaf tea per cup of water, so for a 2 quart pitcher you would need 8 tea bags or 8 teaspoons of loose leaf tea. However, I find how much tea you use depends a lot on two things, the quality of your tea and personal preference. I mostly use loose leaf tea from a company called Plum Deluxe but any tea bag or loose leaf tea will do.
When I started cold brewing tea, I just threw the tea leaves into the pitcher and strained them out when I poured it to drink. If you prefer not to do that you could use a tea ball or fill your own tea bag. I drink so much iced tea, I bought a pitcher with a tea infuser in it.
Cold Brewed Iced Tea
8 cups water
8 tea bags or 8 tsp loose leaf tea
Place water in a pitcher. Add tea bags or loose leaf tea. Place in the fridge and let steep for at least 4 – 6 hours up to overnight in the refrigerator. Remove tea bags or strain out the leaves and drink over ice.
A Cuppa And Conversation 