Iced Tea

MikeyC · 11-09-2008, 01:07 PM

I LOVE iced tea although being a northerner I've never experienced sweet tea. I don't brew my own I just use the powdered stuff at home but it's nice to get actual brewed tea in a restaurant.

My favorite ice tea drink is Arnold Palmer by Arizona Ice Tea. It's a mix of ice tea and lemonaide. YUM!! It's hard to find in supermarkets but the one near me gets it about once a week (usually gone a day after it arrives). Most golf courses seem to carry it at the snack stand in tall cans though.

bigloo · 11-09-2008, 04:01 PM

I think the question was to sugar free teas. I also love sweet tea but stay away from it now. Here are some suggestions.

Moroccan Tea:
1 bag mint (or peppermint) tea
1 bag green (or oolong) tea
Brew as instructed. When hot, add a little honey if you want. Sweeten with a mixture of Splenda and another sweetner of you choice (use splenda and one other, the combo of two sweetners makes for better taste).

Low-Sugar Sweet Tea
1 bag black tea
dash of honey (again, not needed but honey goes a long way compared o sugar).
splenda+other sweetner to taste (same reason as above).
Brew as imstructed, sweeten when hot. Put in fridge.

You can also add lemon slices during brewing to the above for lemon ice tea.

Finally, if you like arnold palmers, use the low-sugar sweet tee above with sugar free lemonaid. I make my own using the sweetner mix mentioned above, a dash of honey and lemon juice from gourmet markets like wholefoods. Sometime I do lime/lemon mix.

The key to this post is this:

A dash of honey gives the "mouth feel" a ton of sugar would take.
Mix your sweetners, but make sure 2/3 of it is ALWAYS splenda.

Sugar not only provides sweetness but mouthfeel (the syrup effect). You can get by this effect by adding flavors (like mint) BUT acidic tastes overpower mouth feel (thats why diet sprite is more like sprite then diet coke it to coke), message here is that adding lemon allows less sugar without noticeable difference. And no, this is not BS

http://www.beveragedaily.com/Product...et-soft-drinks

Give it a try, experiment. Hopefully you find a substitute to your liking. Also, I have yet to find any canned/bittled teas worth a ****. I like tea to taste like tea, not sugar water and raspberry.

Mark C · 11-09-2008, 05:15 PM

Sweet Tea all the way. If I'm buying, Arizona ain't bad, but only from a bottle, the can sucks.

At home when my wife is feeling generous she'll make me sweet tea. A boat load of sugar, handful of Lipton tea bags, microwaved until it's good and hot and then steeped awhile longer. Add a handful of fresh spearmint leaves and it's good to go!

11-09-2008, 01:07 PM	#1
MikeyC member of the CA MINYAN Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Somewhere out there Posts: 1,782 Trading: (11)	Re: Iced Tea I LOVE iced tea although being a northerner I've never experienced sweet tea. I don't brew my own I just use the powdered stuff at home but it's nice to get actual brewed tea in a restaurant. My favorite ice tea drink is Arnold Palmer by Arizona Ice Tea. It's a mix of ice tea and lemonaide. YUM!! It's hard to find in supermarkets but the one near me gets it about once a week (usually gone a day after it arrives). Most golf courses seem to carry it at the snack stand in tall cans though.

11-09-2008, 04:01 PM	#2
bigloo Crazy like a fox Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Lu Location: Rose City Posts: 905 Trading: (27)	Re: Iced Tea I think the question was to sugar free teas. I also love sweet tea but stay away from it now. Here are some suggestions. Moroccan Tea: 1 bag mint (or peppermint) tea 1 bag green (or oolong) tea Brew as instructed. When hot, add a little honey if you want. Sweeten with a mixture of Splenda and another sweetner of you choice (use splenda and one other, the combo of two sweetners makes for better taste). Low-Sugar Sweet Tea 1 bag black tea dash of honey (again, not needed but honey goes a long way compared o sugar). splenda+other sweetner to taste (same reason as above). Brew as imstructed, sweeten when hot. Put in fridge. You can also add lemon slices during brewing to the above for lemon ice tea. Finally, if you like arnold palmers, use the low-sugar sweet tee above with sugar free lemonaid. I make my own using the sweetner mix mentioned above, a dash of honey and lemon juice from gourmet markets like wholefoods. Sometime I do lime/lemon mix. The key to this post is this: A dash of honey gives the "mouth feel" a ton of sugar would take. Mix your sweetners, but make sure 2/3 of it is ALWAYS splenda. Sugar not only provides sweetness but mouthfeel (the syrup effect). You can get by this effect by adding flavors (like mint) BUT acidic tastes overpower mouth feel (thats why diet sprite is more like sprite then diet coke it to coke), message here is that adding lemon allows less sugar without noticeable difference. And no, this is not BS http://www.beveragedaily.com/Product...et-soft-drinks Give it a try, experiment. Hopefully you find a substitute to your liking. Also, I have yet to find any canned/bittled teas worth a ****. I like tea to taste like tea, not sugar water and raspberry.

11-09-2008, 05:15 PM	#3
Mark C Feeling at Home Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SE PA Posts: 674 Trading: (4)	Re: Iced Tea Sweet Tea all the way. If I'm buying, Arizona ain't bad, but only from a bottle, the can sucks. At home when my wife is feeling generous she'll make me sweet tea. A boat load of sugar, handful of Lipton tea bags, microwaved until it's good and hot and then steeped awhile longer. Add a handful of fresh spearmint leaves and it's good to go!