Full credit to my friend D, who introduced me to the concept of the variable temperature, cordless, electric kettle. Silly me, I was still boiling water on the stove or in the (gasp) microwave.
After some deep internet searching, I decided on the Breville variable temperature kettle. My model looks like this:
I also now know, thanks to the geniuses at David's Tea, that each variety of tea requires its own temperature of water, and specific brewing times. If you think you don't like tea because it's bitter, you're probably not brewing it right. I know, right? WHO KNEW?
Well, this simple little device has changed my life, beverage-wise. I drink a lot of iced tea, and to brew it fresh, you simply use 2x the amount of tea for a given amount of water-- 1/2 of what fits in your container.
Hmm... this is turning into a math problem. Let's use some numbers:
Let's say you want to make 1L of iced tea (32oz).
So heat about 16-18oz of water, to the right temperature for the type of tea (green, white, oolong, black/herbal).
Steep 2x the amount of tea for that amount of water (i.e. 1.5tsp for 16oz of water, so use 3tsp for your iced tea adventure).
Next, fill your container with about 16oz (2c) of ice, then pour the hot tea over the ice. Sweeten to taste.
You'll have the right amount of iced tea, at the right concentration.
Magic? No! Math!
