And I’m going to start out with a special treat: a tutorial! How to Make Iced Tea!

Now, I know it’s not going to be summertime much longer, but here in LA it’s back in the 90s, so my beloved iced tea pitcher (Bodum Bistro) has come back out of the cabinet and sprung into action again. And besides, just because it’s not hotside out doesn’t mean you can’t still drink iced tea from time to time – especially if you’re like Derek and me, we can never seem to agree on the temperature in the apartment!

So, where do we begin?

Well, let’s start with some math. You know, get the boring stuff out of the way.

When making iced tea, you’ll need to use more tea than usual – double or triple the normal amount. I’m going to make iced Precious White Peach (from Teavana), and usually I use 2 grams of tea per 8oz cup of water (that’s about a teaspoon per cup). My iced tea pitcher holds 51oz, but I round that down to 48oz so it’s a little easier for my equation:

48oz ÷ 8oz/cup = 6 cups
6 cups • 4g/cup (that’s double the tea per cup) = 24g of tea (about 12 teaspoons)

So I measure it out:

Then, I get the water to the right temperature. You’ll want to use the same temperature you would normally use – 208ºF for oolongs and blacks, 180ºF for greens and 175ºF for whites.

Perfect!

Then, set your timer. Somewhere around 3-5 minutes is perfect for iced tea. I like my iced tea light, so I usually brew for 3 minutes.

NOW we can get to the fun part – actually brewing the tea. Fill your pitcher up about halfway with your heated water, and let it steep until your timer goes off.

Oh man, I can hardly wait. Has it been three minutes yet???

Once your timer goes off, remove your tea leaves.

Note: I actually would recommend a less downy/powdery tea than what I used for iced tea, since that downy stuff can make your tea a little bitter after a while of sitting in there!)

Then, use some cold water to dilute your tea.

(Don’t taste it before you do this, it’s really strong, eek!)

And, to cool it down and truly make it “iced” – add ice, of course!

As the ice melts, it will also help to dilute it a little.

Now you’re ready to serve! Since it’s still probably a little warm, I like to serve it over ice.

Mmm this is going to be good.

And, of course, the final and MOST IMPORTANT STEP… Enjoy!

Of course, if you like sugar or another sweetener, feel free to add some – I like to do this by the glass, since not everyone does.

Enjoy your iced tea!