Last week I came across some Lipton Cold Brew teabags (for brewing iced
tea with cold tap water) in the back of my cupboard. I had never tried
them. They were purchased for guests and I had forgotten about them.
They had been there for probably two or three years.

I decided to try them and was pleasantly surprised that the tea was
quite good. I usually don't like Lipton's products, but finally they
came up with something that I liked. It was not as good iced tea that
was orginally made with boiling water, but it would definitely do in a
pinch if one wanted to make some iced tea quickly. An added bonus was
that it didn't become cloudy when refrigerated.

The bags that I had were pitcher-sized. During the week I bought some
regular cup-sized Cold Brew bags for the office. I like my iced tea
unsweetened, and it is difficult to find a ready-to-drink tea that
isn't overly laden with sugar or artificial sweetener. I made a glass
of Cold Brew from the water cooler. It had an odd aftertaste, which I
attributed.

In the meantime, the supply of pitcher-sized bags that I had at home
ran out, so I bought some more at the supermarket today. I made a
pitcher when I got home, only to find that it had that same peculiar
aftertaste I'd noticed at the office a few days earlier. Darn! Just
when Lipton finally came up with something I liked, they went and
changed the formula. That or they improve with age. I should have
known it was too good to be true.

BTW, does anybody know how it is possible for this stuff to brew so
quickly in cold water?


Rob