Break out the tall glasses and ice – June is Iced Tea Month! To help you celebrate, our Tea Sommelier, Alicja, is sharing her top five iced tea picks from the Shanti Collection. From sweet and floral to tart and tangy, explore Alicja’s curated list below to discover your next summer sipper.
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Strong Earl Grey - “Shanti’s Strong Earl Grey makes a perfect black tea based iced tea. It delivers the classic iced tea taste that everyone enjoys but it’s elevated by the beautiful bergamot flavours. It also works well with an added squeeze of lemon and a sweetener, if you like. A true, delicious summer refreshment, I like to enjoy this iced tea at the start of my workday, for a boost of energy.”
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Kukicha - “This tea is made for summer! It is soft, with sweet and floral notes and a slight citrus flavour. Its low caffeine content means it can be sipped all day in the sun. It also goes well with many different foods and is my favourite iced tea for a picnic or with lunch on the deck.”
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Hibiscus - “My staple, my go-to, my favourite iced tea for summer. It is like juice without the sugar – flavourful, fruity, tangy and just delicious! It also makes a gorgeous crimson infusion. It is an incredibly hydrating and invigorating beverage that can be sipped before or after exercise. My kids love it with a little honey or maple syrup.”
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Lemon Ginger Sencha - “I love the aroma of this tea. Lots of lemon mingled with spicy notes of ginger and a healthy green tea. It is my husband’s favourite! He loves anything lemon and this tea hits the mark – sometimes he adds gin to it! It’s very refreshing and a great stomach soother too.”
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Carnival - "Our bestselling summer tea – with good reason! This fun, caffeine-free blend is fruity, zesty, citrusy, and sweet. It is great for the whole family to enjoy and perfect for making iced tea pops.”
Iced tea brewing tips
Now that you have some new iced teas to try, here are a few quick tips to help you fine-tune your brew.
Iced tea is very easy to make – in fact, you can brew it in the exact same way as you would hot tea (a canning jar is perfect for brewing iced tea). Then, once it cools, simply refrigerate until it’s nice and cold.
As with hot tea, use 2-2.5g of tea per cup. If you want to make a larger batch, scale up. T-Sac Disposable Tea Infusers are handy to use for iced tea brewing, especially if your tea infuser is too small to accommodate larger batches. To make a stronger infusion (to offset dilution from ice), use twice the amount of tea to brew a double-strength batch.
Another fun way to enjoy iced tea? Iced tea cubes – freeze a couple different varieties and use them to enhance your favourite beverages.
Let us know if you discover a new favourite iced tea this month!
