[Mag]

My cupboard is stocked full of tea and I'm not British. Well I live in the British colony called Canada.

The reason, I'm making Iced Tea to drink while driving courier. I save money by not buying pop at $2.50 a bottle and the government is going to put a tax on that as well. Tea is the chosen beverage because it is drinkable whether it gets hot or cold being in the car on a hot summer day or cold winter day.

I'm still in the experimental stage as to what flavor I prefer most and best way to make. I have Red Rose orange pekoe & breakfast blend, Earl Grey, Green Tea, Strawberry Tea. I use the coffee maker, 10 cups of water, coffee filter, 3 tea bags, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. After brewing put in fridge to cool down.

So the question is what tea flavors do people prefer most and work best? Should I use a blend of black tea with fruity tea? Green tea can you blend that with fruity flavors or just straight?

Should I just put the tea in 10 cups of water and let it seep for a few hours instead of brewing it through coffer maker?

[JerryM]

I prefer sun tea. 4 large bags of a high-caffeine tea, preferably dark, to one gallon of water in a big ol' jar. . Screw the lid on, and set it outside in the sun for about...  all day. Don't sugar or lemon the whole batch; let the folks drinking it do that by the glass  Just make sure it's iced when served.

Have fun,

Jerry

[Rob Babcock]

If I have bagged tea on hand I use one Earl Grey, four green tea and maybe six black pekoe (to a gallon of water).  My method is to bring about 3 cups of water to a rolling boil, drop in the tea bags then turn off the heat and let them steep for five minutes.  I'll dump that into three quarts of cold water.  Best not to put it in the fridge (that makes it cloudy) but if I'm drinking it all myself I will do so anyway, especially if it's really hot out. For the most part I don't like anything frou frou in my tea- no fruit, berries, honey, sugar, etc. although a squeeze of lemon is nice.  Beyond that, just ice!

[BobRex]

We go through about a gallon a day of ice tea.  Straight Lipton, 9 teabags seep in 3 quarts of boiling water for 45 minutes, pour over 72 - 75 ice cubes, add 3/4 cup of sugar.  The result is a fairly strong tea verging on sweet tea.  We keep it strong so if it's poured over ice, you have something other than colored sugar water.  I prefer it without additional ice.

[martyo]

Besides the flavor, you'll need to consider how much if any caffeine you want.

[JohnR]

First question - what kind of iced tea is that? 

I save money by not buying pop at $2.50 a bottle

You are probably going to drink a lot less sugar as well, which can't be a bad thing. Personally I couldn't even drink the bottled stuff when I tried it. 

[spudco]

The science of tea brewing:

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/07/the-food-lab-the-truth-about-sun-tea-forget-the-sun-cold-brew-tea-is-better.html


Bottom line - brew tea at 4 bags per quart of water in the refrigerator (or in a cooler of ice)   

[macrojack]

Tastes vary but we like ginger tea made by slicing fresh ginger into a container and adding boiling water. This is highly beneficial from a health standpoint and quite bracing in any season. For hot weather, put sliced cucumber in a large jar of water and let it stand in the refrigerator for a few hours. Strain through a sieve to catch seeds before serving.before serving. This is a very cooling beverage and more tasty than you might expect.

The rest of the way, we drink green tea. St. Dalfour is our preferred brand. Best not to steep green tea more than 3 minutes because it becomes increasingly bitter beyond that point.

[Mag]

Besides the flavor, you'll need to consider how much if any caffeine you want.

I like to taste the tea so I guess I like it strong but not bitter. However I think I'm on a caffeine high even though I haven't drank a lot of my brew as of yet, about a pint a day. But combined with the 2 cups of coffee I drink a day I think I'm getting a high dose.

I say this because when I drive, I do a lot of driving approx. 30,000 city miles a year, I'm feeling alert and perhaps hyper in the morning, but by afternoon I can't seem to focus my concentration intensely on driving as I normally do and feeling a little light headed. So I'm concerned I'm taking in too much caffeine.

[Mag]

First question - what kind of iced tea is that? 

 Tetley Earl Grey, 10 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of sugar.

I tried more & less lemon juice, 3 seems to be the right balance in taste.