Growing up in the heart of the deep down old south, iced tea was a staple in our refrigerators. Of course we called them iceboxes and all iced tea was sweet tea. I was probably nearing my teens before I realized there was any other way to have tea when I come to think of it. The notion of someone drinking hot tea or unsweetened tea was just beyond my ability to comprehend.
One thing I noticed about our sweet tea in the south was that families were loyal to their brand of tea and very slow to change or try a different brand. Our family was loyal to Lipton while many around us were loyal to the Luzianne brand. I remember commercials coming out for Tetley tea in my teens and a sincere desire to try this new and exciting tea that I had never heard of. The ‘tiny little tea leaves in Tetley tea’ were calling me.
Since that point of time I have been somewhat of an adventurer when it comes to trying new products and new brands of tea and many other products that often instill staunch loyalty in consumers. I must admit however, that I was somewhat hesitant to try Lipton’s Cold Brew Iced Tea. I am so very glad that I changed my mind on this particular product.
Despite all the nifty little gadgets that exist for brewing iced tea, I was still doing things the ‘new old fashioned’ way. I was boiling the tea bags on my stove top in order to brew my iced tea–sun tea was always a little bit too strong for my personal liking and it took far too long for my preferences as well. The Cold Brew tea bags by Lipton offer a truly new and unique concept to the idea of brewing tea.
Why Cold Brew?
This is a good question and one I asked myself. First of all, it is energy efficient. We live in a world of limited resources and a seemingly unlimited demand on those resources. Little steps we take can have a huge impact on how long those resources last. Not using electricity or natural gas in order to make tea is small step but those small steps count.
Second, it simply takes less time. You can have tea that is ready to drink in less time than it would take your water to boil if brewing stove top and in about the same amount of time if you were using a tea brewer in order to make your iced tea.
So How Does it Taste?
As a true connoisseur of iced tea, I will be the first to admit that this tea is just as good as any tea I’ve brewed on the stove. I do not notice a significant problem with tea leaves escaping; there are the inevitable few but not a noticeable difference between this and other brands and brewing methods. If you are wondering about your beloved sweet iced tea, I will tell you what I do. I make a simple sugar mixture of hot water (microwave about two cups for two minute) and add the sugar to the hot water, stir well, and add it to the cold brewed tea once the bags have been removed. Great southern iced tea that is worthy of the finest ‘fridges’ in the south.
