How to make good restaurant style iced tea?

Question

We live in Florida and our water here is gross. Every time I make tea, it seems to taste "heavy" and dirty. I bought some distilled water from the store, and it still tastes heavy.

What's the trick? When I go to a restaurant it is light in color and it tastes great. Mine is dark and tastes bitter.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

sounds like you are making it too strong. Get a gallon glass tea pitcher, put 3 family size tea bags, fill with your distilled water and set in the sun..

OR put 3 family size tea bags in a small pan of water, heat almost to a boil and turn off. Let steep for 10 min. Pour in pitcher and add water until it is the strength and color you want.

Answer 2

Restaurant Iced Tea

Answer 3

Yes, I've made restaurant iced tea for years. It's actually made very very cheaply and conveniently because restaurants don't have much time or space for it. First they boil water and brew it very very strong with several Lipton tea bags. The hot tea is allowed to brew somewhere around 5-8 minutes depending on the amount til it gets incredibly dark. This is about 3-4 times as strong as usual. It's brewed really strong because it will be diluted throughout the day. Don't ever add sugar, let the customer do her own. Plus many request unsweetened. Then throw out the bags and throw in THE EQUAL VOLUME in straight ice. Forget adding water, we need to get it cold as soon as possible. Also, when a customer orders it, the glass is also added with ice, so we anticpate that this will dilute it even more. Good luck!

Answer 4

I don't know about "restaurant" iced tea, but I make sun tea. It's wonderful (of course our water is good too). The longer you let the tea bag sit in the water, whether you're making sun tea or using hot water, the darker your tea will be. I generally just use Lipton tea bags, but herbal teas make wonderful iced tea as well.

For sun tea, just fill a large jug or pitcher with water, add 3-4 tea bags, cover and let sit in sun until desired strength. Remember, when you add ice it will dilute the tea some, so you might want to let it get a little stronger. You can add sugar before chilling if you want sweet tea. Whenever I've tried that instant tea, I've been unhappy with the result, so I stick to tea bags.

Answer 5

Restaurants typically use an iced tea brewer. The water is filtered, not distilled. And the amount of tea used is far less than in a home. To make restaurant style tea, you will need to either clean your coffee maker really well or purchase a cheap one just for tea. In your coffee filter basket, place 3-4 regular sized tea bags. Run the maker as for coffee. The reason your tea is "heavy" is that you are steeping the tea, and it's releasing too many tannins (yes, just like wine, the're bitter). So, this brew method will result in a smoother, less offensive tea.

Answer 6

Use only bottled water that you would drink to make the tea. Get a large glass microwaveable measuring cup or pitcher and fill 3/4 full with the water. Microwave for seven minutes or until very hot but before boiling. When finished put in three family size tea bags and allow to steep for at least one hour.
For sweet tea, Heat a second large cup or pitcher of bottled water until very hot then add about 1&1/2 or 1/3/4 cups of sugar and stir until dissolved. (Adjust amount of sugar to your liking).
To combine, just pour in your sugar water (otherwise known as simple syrup) and tea and mix together in a gallon pitcher. Complete the filling by pouring more bottled water over the steep teabags and fill pitcher.
Pour over ice in a tall glass and enjoy! Refrigerate to keep longer.

Answer 7

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RE:
How to make good restaurant style iced tea?
We live in Florida and our water here is gross. Every time I make tea, it seems to taste "heavy" and dirty. I bought some distilled water from the store, and it still tastes heavy.

What's the trick? When I go to a restaurant it is light in color and it tastes great. Mine is dark...