10 Minute Iced Tea

The air is vibrating with the promise of summer. The smell of cut grass. The smell of barbecues. I could even swear that the seawall smells like freshly sliced watermelon. Nothing like living in a rainforest climate to make you appreciate the heck out of sunshine.

And nothing like iced tea to sip on and enjoy that sunshine.

Sometimes when I decide that I want something, I want it now. Iced tea is usually accompanied by a hefty wait time; chilling it completely can take hours.

I indulged my impatience and sped up the process to a piddling ten minutes.

I started by making a very strong tea; 6 tea bags in 4 cups of hot water. I love lemon in my iced tea – my mom used to mix it with lemonade. I used a combination of black tea and lemon herbal tea. Delicious!

I poured the steeped tea over ice to both dilute and chill it, all the while stirring it vigorously in an ice bath.

The ice bath you see in the photo was an after-shot. The ice is half melted and some tea sloshed in.

Voila iced tea in ten minutes from tea bag to glass! Perfect for pressing beverage situations like an impromptu backyard gathering with neighbours, or when you simply have an iced tea itch that must be scratched posthaste.

Iced Tea

If you prefer, use 6 black tea bags and omit the lemon tea.

• 4 black tea bags

• 2 lemon herbal tea bags

• 4 cups/1 litre of boiling water

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or to taste)

• ice

• lemon slices, for serving (optional)

1. In a large teapot, pour the boiling water over the tea bags; steep 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water. Place 2-3 cups of ice cubes in a large pitcher.

3. Pour the hot tea over the ice cubes, and stir in the sugar. Place the pitcher in the ice bath and stir vigourously until the tea has cooled.

4. Fill glasses with ice cubes and 1-2 lemon slices. Fill with tea and serve.

Last Updated on May 17, 2012 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD