How To Make Iced Tea with Loose Leaf Tea

Why use loose leaf tea for iced tea

There are a few reasons why you should consider switching to loose leaf tea for making iced tea:

1. It tastes better: Loose leaf tea is higher quality than most tea bags. Tea bags use fannings and dust, the leftover bits of tea once the good stuff is used.
2. More Variety: When you buy tea bags, you’re limited to a few selections. With loose leaf tea, you have a wider selection. Plus you can blend teas yourself to make you own specialty
3. More affordable: Given the same quality ingredients, loose leaf tea is more affordable than its bagged counterpart.

How to brew loose leaf tea for iced tea:

Here are two methods for brewing iced tea. The first method is to use an iced tea pitcher design for loose leaf tea. The advantage of this is ease of use, plus you can serve tea right out of the pitcher—no need for additional tea ware. The other method uses existing tea ware to brew a double strength batch.

Method 1: Using an Iced Tea Pitcher

Our Mist Iced Tea Pitcher is the best way to go for brewing iced tea. All you have to do is add your loose leaf tea directly inside the pitcher. Then add water! The filter at the top of the pitcher will keep tea leaves from reaching your glass. With the Mist Iced Tea Pitcher, there are is a cold brew and a hot brew method.

Cold Brew Method

1. Add 7-10 tsp loose leaf tea to the 50oz pitcher
2. Gently pour 2 cups hot water first, then 4 cups cold water
3. Place pitcher in fridge. Steep 2 -6 hours.
4. Pour to serve!

Hot Brew Method

1. Add 7-10 tsp loose leaf tea to the 50oz pitcher
2. Gently pour 3 cups hot water first, steep 2-5 minutes
3. Add 2-3 cups ice cold water with ice cubes
4. Pour to serve!

Method 2: Using traditional tea ware

We have a handy guide for brewing loose leaf tea here. The only difference for brewing iced tea is that you double the amount of loose leaf tea you use per cup of water. For example, Instead of using 1 tsp per cup, use 2 tsp. This is because once you’re done steeping the tea, you are going to add ice. Adding ice dilutes it.

Simply follow the directions in the guide. When you are ready to serve, pour over a glass of ice. Tip: let the tea cool a little while so you don’t need a lot of ice