I think I finally found an iced tea recipe/protocol that I like. I use a mix of hot and cold brew. It can be ready in a reasonable time, and you can decide how long you want it to brew for. I make it a liter at a time. I store it in a glass bottle in the fridge, and I found a liter canning jar that is useful for brewing.
15 grams tea (0.5 ounce) 25 grams honey 25 grams sugar 35 ounces water
chill 20 oz of water in the canning jar
Boil 8 oz of water
throw in the tea and turn off the heat after a few seconds
brew for 1 minute.
pour the cold water into the pan
and then transfer back to the glass jar
finish brewing the tea
at room temp or in the fridge for an hour or two
strain the tea mix into the bottle
make a simple syrup with honey and sugar using the final 8 oz of water
add it to the bottle
chill and serve
For the last step, I heat the water in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, place it on a scale and squeeze in 20-25 grams of honey. Once that is dissolved, I add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
For Yerba Mate, I might also add a few teaspoons of lemon juice.
I started making these iced teas after stopping at the Spice of Life tea shop in St. Cloud Minnesota where they have a huge selection of fresh teas. For instance, the Paradise Fruit & Berry Blend, has apple, papaya, elderberry, red currant, raspberry, strawberry and hibiscus. I didn’t want to drink it hot. But I remember making a hibiscus based tea when I worked at Seychelles restaurant in Snata Cruz in the 80’s so I figured I’d make an iced version and it turned out great. A nice bit of unique pleasing flavor, different than the usual array of commercial drinks to offer people with dinner.