Iced Tea and Iced Coffee 101

When my Birthday Rolls around {March 1st} two things become official. It’s flip season and It’s Iced Coffee / Tea Season. Yes I’m that strange girl walking around with flip flops on and an iced coffee in her hand when it’s high 30s out! But I figure the more I actually act like it’s Spring / Summer the more it actually will be Spring / Summer…. right? Erm…. or I could just have an addiction to both?

Anyhoo…. Normally Iced Tea and coffee will cost you an arm and a leg. I mean even though it’s just tea and coffee it’s a pretty pricey habit.  How do I handle it? I make my own. I’ve got a few different methods for each that I thought I’d share with you, that way you too can start making these very refreshing drinks all summer long!

Best part of Iced Tea and Coffee? If you’re a half-asleep-until-I-Get-My-Coffee Person {like me}, then Iced Coffee is your new bffl. Think about it…. it’s all done for you, in the fridge your morning just got a heck of a lot quicker and easier {and that makes me one very happy girl in the morning!

Alright, Lets start with Iced Coffee 101 shall we?

 

Iced Coffee can be made in various ways. My two favorite methods  are easy and don’t require anything other than a coffee maker and a pitcher to put it in! {well and Iced Cubes !}

To figure out how much coffee your pitcher can hold:
• Fill up your coffee pot to the top and start to pour it into the pitcher.
• Once it’s full whatever the difference between your max capacity and what’s left is how much you should brew on average!

Example:
If you have a 12 cup coffee maker and after pouring it into the pitcher you have 2 cups left, you’ll know you need to make roughly 10 cups of coffee 🙂

Method One:
• Make a normal pot of coffee depending on how many cups you need {I always err on the side of adding extra coffee grounds then less}.

• The moment the coffee is done brewing, switch it off and let it sit until reaching room temperature.

• Then pour into pitcher. Cover and let sit in fridge at least overnight.

Method Two:
• Brew 1/4 – 1/2 the coffee you’d need to fill your pitcher, but brew it extra strong.

• Let it come to room temperature once finished brewing and add to pitcher. Then fill remaining pitcher with cold water.

• Cover and let sit in fridge overnight.
{This method might be the best one to use if you have a French Press}

Like with anything you’re going to have to play around with how much coffee grounds you need etc to get your perfect brew!

Moving on to Iced Tea 101

 

Seriously, Iced Tea is great at night in the summer. In the winter I love my cup of hot tea after dinner, so this is my replacement for it. { I am not a fan of my stove / oven in the summer… at all}.

If you use loose leaf tea, just fill a cheese cloth with the correct amount of Tea and drop it in place of the tea bags!

Method One:
This is my Mum’s Method of making Iced Tea! {and totally my favorite}.

• Fill up a pitcher with water

• Depending on how big the pitcher is, use between 4-8 Tea Bags, and put them in the pitcher {I leave the strings off the side so they’re easier to fish out}.

• Cover with plastic wrap and set outside in the sun for 2-4 hours {depending on how sunny it is and how strong you like your tea}.

• When done, Pull out your tea bags and put in the fridge to chill!

• Serve with Lemon wedges, mint, or straight up!

Method Two:
{My lazy I want it now method}.

• Fill up the pitcher with water and pour water into a big pot.

• Cover the pot and turn on high to come to a boil. Once boiled turn off, uncover, and move to a different burner

• Depending on amount of water, place 4-6 bags in the pot. Let steep for 2o minutes.

• Pull out bags and let it come to room temperature. Pour contents into your pitcher and refrigerate until chilled!

{If you’re really impatient…. brew the tea with a few extra bags and add ice cubes into the pitcher when the pot cools down, you’ll be able to drink your iced tea in less than half the time!}

So as you can see.. I didn’t waste any money on any of those craptastic “made for iced tea” bags… or “Brew iced coffee instantly” Coffees.. Don’t.. Stop put it down, those are a money sucker. They don’t taste any better and frankly they’re just weird. I mean why pay an extra $3 or $4 for what you can make in your house… right this second.

Oh and if you’re on the go a lot and want to take this with you, Treat yourself to one of these:
Reusable Iced Beverage cups! They range anywhere from $5-$30 Depending on where it’s from and the size, etc. If you love both iced tea and iced coffee I’d recommend buying two. Coffee tends to really infuse itself {so to speak} in plastic containers. So to avoid cross-flavor contamination… you’d be better off getting two!