When I lived in Texas and North Carolina, iced tea season lasted from March to November. Here in the northwest, it’s abbreviated because of the cooler climate. Last week I declared it iced tea season, to great rejoicing. However, we needed tea suitable for iced tea.
As I have said time and again, iced tea is to be black, strong, unsweetened, and unsullied by other flavors. Unfortunately, I live amongst too many Philistines here in Seattle. Even the venerable Perennial Tea Room in Pike Place Market will sample tutti-frutti iced teas. This is the equivalent of the snickerdoodle coffee that a cookware store in Greensboro used to hawk–and which made Julian gag. Luckily, amazon.com happens to sell Luzianne, the ne plus ultra of iced tea bags. Since Julian had to order some other stuff, it was no problem to add a box to the shipment.
Put some south in your mouth–but don’t sweeten it.
There are many ways to get from teabag to a tall, cold glass. One can brew the tea the traditional way, by boiling water and letting the tea steep a few minutes. If you really want a strong brew that can stand to be diluted by lots of ice, this is the way to go. Sun tea caught on in the 1980’s. I often make refrigerator door light tea: Put the teabags in a pitcher of cold water and chill overnight. Cold brewing extracts less of the tannins that can make tea too bitter for some palates.
Once the tea is dark enough, fish out the teabags and pour some over ice in a glass. If you must, you can add a spritz of lemon. Don’t sweeten it. Save those sugar calories for more important things, like peach cobbler. For the full effect, drink the tea underneath a ceiling fan or in front of an air conditioner and complain about how ungodly hot it is. Ah, summer!
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