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restaurant style iced-tea (home results dont come close)
(Sanjay Punjab) wrote in
om:
> I am an iced tea lover. However I rarely can get the taste and
> consistancy that I find at restaraunts, such as TGI Fridays etc.
> I tried Lipton and Luzianne. I tried brewing the tea using a tea
> kettle and pouring over ice. I also tried using my coffee maker.
> Does anyone know the blend of teas commonly used in restaurant chains
> for iced-tea and what their secret (if any) for making great tasting
> iced-tea.
> Thanks
A long time ago, when I was a student and worked in the cafeteria, we
made iced by steeping huge teabags in large amounts of water that had
been heated to boiling. I don't know if TGI Fridays does it that way or
not. However there was nothing mysterious too it in my experience.
From what you say it sounds like maybe you are boiling the tea bag
("using a tea kettle and pouring over ice")? That will make the tea
bitter. When I make iced tea at home (and it is good), I put some
Luzianne tea bags in a big measuring cup, pour in boiling water, steep,
and then pour into my glass iced tea jug. I brew the tea double
strength. Before I pour the brewed tea into the jug I put ice and water
into the jug equivalent to the amount of water used to brew the tea. In
other words, to make a 1/2 gallon of iced tea I brew 1 quart of double-
strength tea and pour it over a quart (combined) of ice and water. (In
metric terms, that's about a liter of double-strength tea over the same
amount of ice water, to yield about 2 liters.)
Another thing that could be affecting the taste of your tea (other than
boiling it - ugh) is how long you steep your tea. Too short and it will
be weak. Too long and it can become bitter. The Luzianne box has good
directions. In fact, Luzianne is so good for iced tea that every so
often I buy it over the Internet - it isn't found in supermarkets here in
the Boston area.
My last thought is that maybe the restaurants are adding sugar to the tea
before serving it. Could that be the difference?
Good luck,
Debbie
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