sadly unnecessary at the flea market. I ended up pouring my tea out from it, and letting it cool off completely before drinking. Who would have guessed it ended up an iced tea afternoon?It did get me thinking about tea in the summer, though. I remember the first time I heard a tea sommelier (after I stopped snorting because he actually referred to himself that way) speak:
He was Australian, and said that he drank hot tea every single day of the year. And it gets hot down there (just ask Paul Hogan re: Linda Kozlowski's knickers). He claimed that drinking hot tea didn't make him feel hotter, even in 100 degree weather. This could have been typical Aussie bravado, but I didn't cut back on hot tea consumption that summer, and somehow, I survived.However, in the midst of a terribly sticky week last summer when it was too hot to even conceptualize boiling water, I started experimenting with cold-brew iced tea. Basically, you step the tea in cold water and leave it in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight. I can't remember what the exact formula was, so this week, I will brave the cold waters and sort it all out. I need to stock up on some Japanese green tea tomorrow at Ito En anyway, so I will get a few other teas to experiment with. Any ones you're particularly curious about turning into iced tea with barely a lift of the finger, just let me know.
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4 comments:
I remember in India, you just keep on drinking tea and it is not recommended you "icy drinks" in the hot months, lest ye break down or something.
It was an iced tea day though and thanks for bringing your thermos.
you know, I was dying for an iced tea after walking around that flea market, and the pricey baked-goods stand had completely run out. losers. i suppose they hadn't foreseen the weather change leading to so many over-dressed, hot and thirsty post-hipsters. i was forced to have water which, while you can't say enough about water, just doesn't have tea's...ummm....flavor.
i usually cold-brew tea by leaving it in the sun for a day. last summer i made sencha-blood orange iced tea alot. it was good.
the basic recipe for iced tea (when starting from hot water) is "twice as long, twice as strong". meaning twice the amnt of tea and twice the steeping time. not to be confused with the adult video of the same name. not that i have seen it.
hmm, i'm not too familiar with the "twice as long, twice as strong" method, either in the kitchen or elsewhere. i'll have to try it after this week's cold-brew experiment (coming in a day or so, i swear).
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