Iced Tea HELL

I tried making iced tea once - in desperation to have some - and you're right it came out pretty vile.

I stick to buying it from Sainsburys or Starbucks.

Does Sains sell it without allot of crap in it like sweetners or fake lemon flavourings?

They sell Snapple and also Twinings Iced tea - small cans but pretty nice

Will have to investigate further. Don't often go to Sainsbury's except once in a while for rye bread which Tesco hasn't stocked yet  

I'm still giggling at the thought of undressing royals on the Iced Tea message page! How did we get there? Anyway, I too love iced tea, and used to make it this way (with our hard water in the US):

5 bags Lipton or whichever tea you like (don't put in the paper labels, mind)
1 quart water, cold

Place tea bags in water on stove, bring to simmer, do NOT boil, for about 10 minutes. The water will turn darker as the tea infuses, and gets a little foamy. After 10 minutes of barely simmering, remove from heat, and let steep for 5 minutes. Then remove the tea bags, pour the tea over 1 quart of ice, and pop in the fridge. You may add your sweetener here. When you're ready for your tea, just put ice in a glass, and pour your tea into it, a lemon wedge, tada! The drawback to this method is the amount of ice you'll need! But it IS "iced" tea, after all.

Karen

NB:  they do have 1.5 litre bottles of Lipton Iced tea (peach and lemon) for sale at Tesco's.  Seriously...Tesco's should give me marketing money!  
wench
Btw...I didn't actually drink that much iced tea in the states but started seriously craving it awhile back....and finally a recipe!  yay!    Tho I would have thought adding the sugar before adding the ice might be best (as it dissolves best in hot liquids).  Also....from a childhood sleepover in tha deep south....if out of ice....vanilla ice cream will turn it into sugar high heaven!  yes...my friends and I did make tea floats lol

At Tescos and Sainsbury's you can get Instant Lemon Flavored Iced Tea, it's called: Lift
It does pretty well for iced tea in a rush.

There is a store called: Lidl that sells already made iced tea lemon flavoured. It's in a 2l carton for like 49 to 69 p
It taste better than Lift.

I also tried making my own iced tea, with red diamon tea bags that I brought from the states, made it on the stove and everything and still.. it's lacking... too water down tasting, so I'm having problems with it as well.

Kanga

Southern Girl's UK Iced Tea Recipe:

1 litre cold bottled water - basic, nothing fancy, like the generic Sainsbury's brand
5 plain, ordinary tea bags - whatever my husband had in the cupboard that looked similar to Lipton
1/2 cup - 1 cup white pure cane sugar, amount varies depending on how sweet you want your tea
3 pints of ice

1. Prep - place the tea bags in 2 coffee filters and tie with a piece of kitchen string to make a little brewing pouch - like a bouquet garni.  Set aside.  Put the ice in the jug you plan to serve the tea from.  Use a glass or ceramic jug for best results and to prevent a funky taste.

2. Heat the cold water until it is close to a boil - DO NOT BOIL the water as that will make the iced tea taste biter - in a metal pan which has a lid on your stove top, not in the kettle.

3.  Remove the hot water from the eye, place the pouch of tea bags in the water and put the lid on the pot.  Let the tea steep for 10- 15 minutes until it has a nice, rich, dark color.  I usually found 10 minutes sufficient.  

4.  Remove the tea bag pouch from the pot of tea and discard.  Add the sugar to the hot tea.  Stir to disolve.  If you test the tea, it should taste rather sweet.

5.  Allow the sweetened tea to sit and cool for 10 - 15 minutes then slowly pour it over the jug of ice.  Stir.  The tea is now ready to serve.  Fill a suitable glass with ice and pour the tea over it.  Ignore unpleasant remarks from those who don't appreciate a fine beverage.  

thanks for the recipe, val!

the bottled water makes a HUGE difference!

i tried some iced tea with a spiced tea a friend brought from california...has a natural sweetner in it.  i am SO addicted to iced tea again!  must have a look around for a similar tea around here!

finally got around to having lunch at chili's last week.  they have iced tea (plain) but you have to ask for it, it wasn't on the menu.

*

My mom, who grew up in Louisiana, is the queen of iced tea. But as biggest first mentioned--if I make it here, it's initially clear (as it should be), but gets cloudy once refrigerated. We have a Brita pitcher, so presumably the water's filtered. I can't figure out what's going on with the murkiness. My Brit husband hasn't taken to iced tea, but then again, I've never taken to hot tea watered down with milk--"Uh, how can you even tell it's tea?"

i love iced tea.. i have lipton lemon one
my hubby thought i had to heat it up instead of drink it cold LOL

I think I might have the answer to the murky iced tea problem (I've already notified both the FBI and CIA). Proportionately, if you're making a pitcher, for instance, steep the tea bags in a quarter of the water you'll actually use. Let them sit for 10+ minutes, and then add the rest of the water (the other three quarters), cold. If that doesn't work, chew your own paws off.

thanks for the recipe, val!

the bottled water makes a HUGE difference!

One other thought ... are you all using boiling water from a kettle to make the tea?

You may find that that is making the tea bitter and cloudy as the boiling water changes the flavor and extracts more bitter oils from the leaves.

Now we are in the US we are using a coffee maker to make iced tea, it works perfectly, but doesn't boil the water before it hits the tea leaves.