Making Iced Tea in the Kitchen Sink in album tea

In Albums: tea

Jul 6th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

This is not the sexiest or most artistic photo, but it shows a process which is easy, practical, time-saving, and energy-saving, and which will help to keep both you and your kitchen cool on a hot day.

This photo captures a key stage in making iced tea. It is a stage that not everyone uses, but that I always do. I have already brewed a very strong cup of iced tea, which I have then poured into this glass jar. I have set the glass jar inside a pot and filled the pot with cold water. This allows the hot tea to quickly cool down to the temperature of the water, which on a hot day, is well below room temperature. When the tea has cooled off (which typically happens in a matter of minutes because there is very little tea relative to the quantity of water), I then dilute the concentrated tea, bringing it to the desired concentration, by filling the jar with cold water, and then I place it in the fridge.

If I want to drink the tea immediately, I skip the refridgeration step and pour the room-temperature tea directly over ice.

Using this process to cool down the hot tea to room temperature before placing it in the fridge saves energy, and also helps keep the kitchen cool (which can save even more energy if your home is air conditioned).

I wrote about this more on my blog post about energy saving tips for making iced tea.