Iced Tea Challenge!

Summer is here and it is time for summer beverages.  I was talking with one of my sisters the other day and we were discussing the many iced tea possibilities.  It inspired me to do a taste test!  I chose 5 of the teas I thought would be the best candidates for cold consumption and brewed them up.  Then we had a little taste test.

Here is my favorite way to make tea. Outside on the front steps. Sun tea! Just put some bags in and let them sit in the sunshine all day then stick it in the fridge to drink the next day. I like to imagine we get some vitamin D from this method, but I don’t think that is true. Oh well!

Here are my 5 choices. Tazo- Ginger Green, Yogi- ReVitalize, Republic of tea- peppermint chocolate, Good earth-sweet and spicy, and Good Earth- Green Tea lemongrass

Either boil some water and steep the teabags, cool then stick in the fridge.
Or make sun tea, whichever your weather permits!

if you are steeping it inside with boiling water don’t put a lid on it

if you are making sun tea put the lid on so that little buggies don’t take a swim in your tea!

Helpful hint.  If you steep your tea for too long (especially black and green teas) and they become bitter, a little whisking will take away some of the bitterness.  I think it is the oxygen that does the trick but I don’t know for sure (google it if you really want to know why!)

Beautiful!!!!!

Here is a little background on my testers. Me – I love tea and iced tea in general so I will enjoy most incarnations of tea and herbal infusions. Liesl – will try anything and does enjoy tea more than most kids! Jen and Dave are both not really tea drinkers, so any inkling of enjoyment is a big plus vote for these beverages!

Results

Tazo – Green Ginger……4 thumbs down!!  This surprised me, because this is one of my favorite hot teas.  We all thought it was kind of sour and bitter tasting, a little sweetener did not improve the flavor either.

Yogi – ReVitalize……1 loved it 3 thought it was just good -not great.  This one is minty and very refreshing, it is a combo of mint and black tea.  I know plain mint is terrific cold, we do that often for sore throats!

Republic of Tea – Cocoa Peppermint Rooibos……..2 loved it 2 thought it was just good.  Very dessert like, not too sweet.  In fact when we added sweetener it took away from the flavor a bit.

Good Earth – DeCaff lemongrass Green………1 liked very much 3 were not impressed, too little flavor for some.  Nice and mild, nothing to write home about but again refreshing.

Good Earth – Sweet and Spicy Decaff………..2 loved loved loved it 2 liked it.  This one is a staple in my fridge during the summer.  Very cinnamon spicy and fun to have cold!  Very sweet all on its own.  This one might be fun frozen into pops!

In general we all agreed that extra sweetener did very little to improve the flavor of the teas.  In fact it seemed to mellow them out a bit.  That might be good for some people but in this crowd it was not a plus.

Yes, I have an obsession with tea!  I keep my tea in a kitchen drawer.  It is much easier to find what I desire instantly!

Are there any teas that you love iced?  Being the tea fanatic that I am I would love to hear what you are drinking this summer!