Although preparing iced tea is very easy, it's very common for it not to be prepared correctly, mainly due to not using the right amount of water or tea. In some places, they even just add ice to hot tea.

Next, I'm going to show you three easy ways to prepare delicious iced tea, which will not only quench your thirst during these hot months but also provide you with plenty of health benefits. All of these methods use loose-leaf tea.

Hot Method

1. We will use the same amount of tea as we would use to prepare hot tea. For example, for a 16 oz. (500ml) glass, we will use 2 teaspoons of tea (green, black, oolong, or pu-erh; if it were white tea, we would use 2 tablespoons).

2. In this case we will only put half the amount of hot water, that is, for a 16 oz. (500ml) glass we will use 250 ml of hot water.

3. We prepare the tea following the specific time and temperature instructions for the type of tea we are preparing:
• White tea: water at 80-85°C, infuse for 4 min.
• Green tea: water at 60-75°C, infuse for 2-3 min.
• Black tea: water at 90-95°C, infuse 3-5 min.
• Pu erh tea: water at 90-95°C, infuse for 3 min.

4. We put ice in a 500ml glass.

5. We strain the tea leaves and pour them over the ice.
This way you'll achieve a full-bodied and flavorful iced tea, as the ice will melt (but not completely), diluting the tea's flavor to the perfect concentration. Remember that you can find the brewing time and temperature instructions for each type of tea on our packaging or in our online store.

Cold Brew Method

This type of preparation takes longer, but it has the advantage that it's almost impossible for the tea to become bitter. It's a very useful method, especially if you're preparing large quantities of tea for a party or event.

Note: Again, we will use twice as much tea as water, so that when the infusion is mixed with ice, its flavor is perfect and it is not bland.

1. For every 250ml cup of water, add 2 teaspoons of tea. It is very important that the water is room temperature (NOT hot). For example, to prepare 2 liters of iced tea: add 8 teaspoons of tea leaves to 1 liter of room temperature water.

2. Leave the tea leaves in the water for at least 3 hours, but if possible, I recommend letting them steep overnight.

3. After this time, strain the leaves and serve the infusion in a glass full of ice.

TIPS:
• As this is a preparation method that requires more time, I suggest you make at least one pitcher of iced tea.
• To find out how much tea you will need, I recommend weighing it:
Or, with 20 grams of tea (green, black, oolong or pu erh) and 1 liter of room temperature water, you will get 2 liters of iced tea when you add ice.
Or, with 15 grams of white tea and 1 liter of room temperature water, you will get 2 liters of iced tea when you add ice.

Sun Tea Method

It's a method rarely used outside the United States. The idea is to let the infusion steep in a covered jar exposed to sunlight, which will heat the water and give you the infusion much faster than with the Cold Brew method; the infusion will be ready in about 1 hour.

As with the two previous methods, half the amount of water is used so that when ice is added, the resulting beverage is balanced. This means you can replicate the steps of the Cold Brew Method, but in step 2, instead of letting the tea leaves steep for 3 hours (or overnight), you'll only let them steep for 1 hour in a covered pitcher exposed to sunlight.

Here are some recommendations that apply to any of the 3 methods:

• Do NOT crush the leaves when straining the tea to avoid releasing more tannins and polyphenols, which can make your drink bitter.
• If possible , sweeten your drink before adding the ice, so the sweetener will dissolve faster.
• To sweeten your drink you can use a natural syrup made with another tea or herbal infusion , click here to see the syrup recipes.
• You can add chopped fruit to your iced tea to make it more fun and energizing. I recommend looking for fun flavor combinations; another idea is to add a scoop of fruit ice cream.
• You can also make ice cubes with the tea infusion and use them to add more flavor to your drinks or cocktails.

Let tea be your ally this summer to refresh yourself in a healthy and delicious way!

Olivia Medina
Tea Master, EURO TE