How to make iced voće tea

In the summer months, consumption of hot tea generally declines in the U.S.  (The one exception to this trend is in offices, where many women are “fighting the battle of the thermostat.”)  So, how do we take our favorite hot beverage and make it cold?
 
We’ve posted about this on social media before, but we thought it was worth doing here on the blog.  Making iced Voće is really quite easy.  All you need to do is find a good brewing jar—we prefer half gallon wide-mouthed Ball mason jars, like this. Then you should CAREFULLY cut the strings off your tea bags and add boiling water. We suggest using approximately 12-16 oz of boiling water for every tea bag.  In other words, if you want to make a half gallon of iced tea, you should use a maximum of 4 tea bags. You should double that for a gallon. Once you’ve added boiling water, let the tea bags steep until the water cools down to room temperature. Then fish out your tea bags and enjoy.
 
If you plan to make iced Voće regularly, we suggest you invest in a mesh infuser.  This is the one we use because it fits a half gallon mason jar perfectly.  If you use an infuser, you should cut open your tea bags in step 1 and deposit the ingredients (rather than the entire tea bag) in the infuser. Then add boiling water and let the tea cool to room temperature.  With an infuser, you can leave the ingredients in the brewing jar overnight.
 
If you plan to pour your tea over ice, then we suggest brewing the tea strong, so the melted ice doesn’t dilute the flavor. You can garnish your iced tea with fresh fruit, and if you like lightly sweetened tea, you can always add a little sugar or honey to taste. Drink well!