January 29th, 2008
How To Make Tea, Hot or Sweet (Iced)
This is not as simple a question as it looks at first. I grew up with Red Rose and Lipton in little bleached white bags, dipped a few times in tepid water and set on the back of the stove for one more use. So when I started becoming interested in tea it was amazing to me that not all tea comes in bags, and in fact, I prefer the ones that do not!
I also grew up with the type of sweet tea that one spoons from a jar. I believe the proper term is, “Instant”.
You cringed. I saw you.
Hot Tea
You can make tea either by the cup or by the pot.
By the pot:
I like tea made in the pot. I just think it tastes better. Bring a tea kettle just to the boil with filtered, cold water. Do not boil the water though. Add a little boiling water to the empty tea pot to warm it up. Pour out the water used to warm the pot and add the loose tea.
The rule of thumb is to add one teaspoon of tea per person and one extra “for the pot”.
When the water is boiling pour it onto the tea. Leave to steep (or infuse if you like that term better). Again this is hard to pinpoint but 3 minutes for short leaf teas and up to 6 minutes for long leaf. Too much past this will give you a nasty, bitter taste. Pour the tea into the warmed cups through a filter.
For a cup of tea:
Use tea bags or a tea infuser
Warm the cup. Fill with your hot water, as above, and place the tea bag in for no more than 3 minutes.
There. Simple enough.
On to Sweet Tea.
Sweet tea is a southern beverage like no other. It could only come from those who created the sticky, coma inducing pecan pie. Do not scrimp on the sugar, do not use fake sugar, and do not add the sugar AFTER you make the tea. If you plan on participating in any of those nasty habits then stop right now.
All righty then.
Bring 2 quarts of cold, filtered water with 1 1/2 cups of sugar stirred in, to the boil, but again, do not boil it. When it is about to boil remove from heat and add 1/3 c loose tea leaves of choice. Earl Grey Lavender is a nice flavor for sweet tea. Allow to steep for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into a pitcher through a strainer. Allow to come to room temperature before chilling.
Really good southern sweet tea is a lost art. I hope you will find it.
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