Tis Fridged Tea in Mason jar season

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 07/01/2016 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

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This was taken last night.

It’s summer time now, so the ztp household is back to fridged tea. It’s weird since I’ve only been drinking tea for over a year now, and I thoroughly enjoy the mason jar idea. It’s like a pop/soda can size, but more refreshing when you are hot and sweaty.

Let’s punch a panda!

I have a gut feeling some of you will ask, but each jar had one black tea bag and one green tea bag, then each jar is filled with cold water and left overnight in the fridge for 10-12 hours. No silly extras like sugar or sweeteners; just pure unadultered tea.

Also, neither of us like the sun tea idea, or leaving it outside. Room temperature drinks have a possibility to get bacteria.

Taken this morning.

I’m excited for it. MrsZtp introduced the idea to me last year (she’s so smart...for stealing this idea). I put one in my lunch box each day, and have another for dinner.

We buy the cheapest 100 pack of tea, each being under $3 I think (so a total of <$6, minus the initial mason jar cost), and just continually remake the tea when we are low. You save a lot of money in the long run. And for a family trying to cut corners to save money anywhere we can, it’s nice to drink something that isn’t water, :).

Rico > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:24

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This is actually a pretty awesome idea, I want one just looking at the picture!

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:25

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I just make it a gallon at a time and pour what I need. It doesn’t matter much which method you use, but leaving tea out for a couple of days isn’t good. Get it brewed, then refrigerate. If I want to take some with me, I prefer an insulated cup or a coffee carafe. We have a nice Stanley insulated carafe that holds a full liter and will keep it cold most of the day.

Down here, as in much of the south, sweet tea is the norm. I, like you, prefer it unsweetened. Since making the switch from sweet tea, I discovered that the excessive sugar masks any nasty taste from poorly cleaned brewing pots. I’ve had several conversations with local restaurants about the state of their brewing equipment.

Dru > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:27

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Tea, in a mason jar, with no sugar. You monster.

-a guy from the south

zeontestpilot > Rico 07/01/2016 at 08:29

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And if you put a few slices of peach or Apple in it, they taste delicious tea-soaked.

zeontestpilot > Dru 07/01/2016 at 08:32

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I like my tea just like how I like my coffee, nothing added, just a plain tart flavor.

Rico > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:35

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Peach anything is always good, I’m going to borrow this idea if you don’t mind =)

edu-petrolhead > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:37

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Does coldbrewing the tea eliminates the tannin problem? Brewing steaming hot tea for too long makes the leaves to release a lot of tannins, which are incredibly astringent and bitter, completely masking the soothing flavour of the tea.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 08:38

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Tea, yes; coffee, no! Coffee is way too bitter for my palate. Yeah, I know, I’m overly sensitive to bitter and sour.

LongbowMkII > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/01/2016 at 08:45

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McDonald’s tea is black mold and sugar.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

TheRealBicycleBuck > LongbowMkII 07/01/2016 at 08:50

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Ack! Cough, cough.

I talked to one restaurant about their nasty tea and they swore they used plastic liners in the brew pot. Turns out they had not cleaned the brew basket or changed the liner in months.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/01/2016 at 08:50

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We made some last Monday night, I was gone in a few days. This batch will last us 3-4, tops 5 days. We only have water in the house, so anything that isn't it gets consumed quickly. Unless it's cranberry juice. That's disgusting. Lol

zeontestpilot > Rico 07/01/2016 at 08:58

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Go ahead! It's one of the reasons I made this post! :).

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead 07/01/2016 at 09:00

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Um...not sure? MrsZtp would probably know, since she cares and I don't, lol. I'll link this post to her, and get her thoughts for you.

zeontestpilot > TheRealBicycleBuck 07/01/2016 at 09:02

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My coffee might be a bit weak, but I like the bitter taste in the morning. It helps me wake up on taste alone, lol.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 09:05

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Nope, I just can’t do it. Bitter tastes make my face hurt.

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead 07/01/2016 at 09:18

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MrsZtp didn’t know, but she looked into it and found this. 2nd paragraph.

Dru > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 09:20

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How very Midwestern of you.

Stapleface > zeontestpilot 07/01/2016 at 10:11

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I’ve never cold brewed before. I’ve always just made a pot of boiling water, steeped the tea bags for a couple of hours, then made the tea in a gallon jug and put in the fridge. I’ll have to give your method a try.

Side note: Why is it that the panda bear is a go-to Asian symbol for so many people? It’s like there was a committee and they were trying to figure out how to make their tea look authentic "I know, let's put a panda on the box!". As for the Red Rose, I don't mind them. Although I have always been partial to Tetley since that's what I grew up on. Lipton, on the other hand, is awful.

zeontestpilot > Stapleface 07/01/2016 at 11:56

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I just assumed green tea was either made of bamboo or pandas; you mean pandas are a symbol for Asian culture?!

gin-san - shitpost specialist > edu-petrolhead 07/01/2016 at 12:19

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In short: yes.

I think a great example is green tea, which is finnicky in that if it’s brewed too long or if the water’s too hot the not-so-yum compounds really come out. Cold brewing gets you all the good flavour without the bitterness.

edu-petrolhead > gin-san - shitpost specialist 07/01/2016 at 12:57

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Then I need to try it!!

CyborgAdaLovelace > zeontestpilot 07/02/2016 at 20:45

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I made the switch to cold-brewing recently and it is the bomb. We got a 1.5 gallon dispenser thingy that we keep in the fridge and that lasts maybe 3 days. I’m a bit of a tea snob and usually drink hot and cold tea with nothing added (I like to taste the tea, not the sugar) and I can confidently say that I have never had better iced tea than what’s in my fridge right now. Of course, now I have to try it with fancy loose leaf tea, but that’s for another time.

CyborgAdaLovelace > edu-petrolhead 07/02/2016 at 20:53

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Yes it does. You have a lot more leeway with how long you brew it (I’ve been doing black tea lately and usually brew that for about 15 hours, although it’s plenty drinkable before then). It never really gets bitter, although if you leave the bags in for like 2 days then there starts to be an edge to the flavor. Anything less than 24 hours (again, a fair amount of leeway) and it’s just going to be very smooth and flavorful. I like some tannin in my hot tea, especially in the morning for that kick in the pants. Iced tea is a different animal, and hot-brewed iced tea that’s been brewed too long I start wanting sugar. But cold-brewing really takes care of that entirely, so you end up with a very refreshing drink without adding any sugar (which is important for me, as I’m still trying to drop a few extra pounds). I’ve been mostly making a berry-flavored black tea, which has just a little bit of sweetness which is nice.

zeontestpilot > CyborgAdaLovelace 07/02/2016 at 20:53

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I'm a simple man, I like things cheap, lol.

CyborgAdaLovelace > zeontestpilot 07/02/2016 at 20:55

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Nothing wrong with that! I’m kinda cheap myself, but the truth is that even fancy tea is still one of the cheaper beverage options.

edu-petrolhead > CyborgAdaLovelace 07/03/2016 at 10:30

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Now I want even more to try cold brewed tea, haha! Thanks for the information!

CyborgAdaLovelace > edu-petrolhead 07/03/2016 at 14:31

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Just do it! It’s hard to screw up. I do recommend using a little more tea or a little less water than you would for hot tea (for instance, I am using these big teabags that are intended to make a half gallon of tea when hot-brewed; I use 4 bags for 1.5 gallons cold-brewed). Err on the side of a high tea/water ratio, because you can always water it down.

edu-petrolhead > CyborgAdaLovelace 07/04/2016 at 07:57

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This is the same line of thought I use for making coffee at work. I make extra strong coffee, because strong coffee can be watered down, while you can’t strenghten weak coffee, haha