3 Big Mistakes You're Making With Brewed Iced Tea

There are few things as refreshing as a pitcher of freshly brewed iced tea on a hot day. Which is why it's a good idea to know how to make a batch at home — this way, if you're a big iced tea lover, you'll save yourself money and be able to customize it to your liking. However, after making it the first time, you may have found that it was underwhelming or didn't taste as good as it does when you order it at a café. To find out the most common mistakes that are behind lackluster homemade iced teas, Daily Meal spoke with an expert: Jordan G.L. Hardin, director of food and beverage at Alfred.

The first common mistake is a simple one — using bad water when making iced tea. Hardin explains: "Tea is 99% water, so if your water tastes off, so will your tea." He suggests using either spring water or water that has been filtered well. Hardin notes that many people don't think to use high quality water because they're making iced tea in big batches, so it's easier to use tap water straight from the sink. Hardin adds, "But if you use unfiltered tap water, your tea will likely taste of tap water."

According to Jordan G.L. Hardin, the next big mistake most people make when brewing iced tea is not using enough tea. Hardin says, "The way you boost the delicious flavor of any given tea you're brewing is not to steep it longer, but to use more tea. Steeping tea longer extracts more bitterness, whereas using more tea adds more flavor."

When it comes to tea bags versus loose leaf tea, not only does loose leaf tea last longer in the pantry, but it is also generally considered to be better for flavor. Use one teaspoon of loose leaf tea for each cup of water used to make iced tea — just as we do in our recipe for our cold brew iced tea. To make it a bit stronger, add an additional one or two teaspoons of loose leaf tea. 

If you have to use tea bags, there are large-sized tea bags out there designed specifically for making iced tea. These are your best bet if you can't source loose leaf tea. But before you add the tea bags, just make sure that they haven't expired yet.

There are two methods for making iced tea recommended by Jordan G.L. Hardin – hot brew and cold brew. The hot brew method consists of brewing the tea in hot water, then chilling it, while the cold brew method steeps the tea in cold water. According to Hardin, another mistake people making with iced tea is not picking the right method for what type of tea they are brewing.

Hardin says for black tea, most people would assume hot brewing it then chilling it would work best. "However, depending on the tea used, the amount used, and hardness of your water, this could lead to your tea going cloudy, which typically results in overly bitter, mineral tasting iced tea," says Hardin. He recommends cold brewing it instead, or, letting the hot steeped tea come to room temperature before chilling it.

"If its a herbal tea, hot brewing then chilling is perfectly fine, but green tea can also go bitter from this method," says Hardin. He says that cold brewing overnight for green tea works well, as does the flash chilling method. Flash chilling is "hot brewing the green tea at double strength, and then immediately straining it over ice to cool it down," explains Hardin. By avoiding these three big mistakes when brewing your own iced tea you're bound to find a recipe and method you love.