Q&A for How to Make Iced Tea

Doubling it will take longer to chill and may not work as well. To play it safe go with several batches.

If you are talking about the iced tea you get at the store, no. The difference is that store-bought iced tea is much sweeter than homemade. The variants with ice cream and fruit will not taste like store-bought iced tea.

Yes, you may freeze the tea.

You can use any type of tea bags you want!

It can be kept chilled overnight and finished within 24 hours of making it.

Yes, you can make iced tea with herbal tea instead if you'd prefer.

You can make the tea as usual and then add peach simple syrup to it. There are recipes online that will detail the process of making simple syrup for you, but basically, you'll boil water, sugar, and peaches until the ingredients form a syrup.

Yes, any tea of your choice will work.

The recommended amount is 0.5 litres per person, if you take into consideration that some people will drink more and some less iced tea. In total that makes 10 litres.

All of those are good options. Make each of them and then decide which is your personal favorite.

Yes, pretty much! Sun tea brews at a temperature that is high enough to encourage rapid bacterial growth, but not high enough to kill any of that bacteria, so it is generally considered unsafe to drink. (You wouldn't eat cold food that had been left out in the hot sun for the same reason!) You can approximate sun tea more safely by adding tea bags to a pitcher of water and leaving it to steep overnight in the refrigerator, but it is not nearly as strong as iced tea brewed using the above methods.

Yes, you can use maple syrup to your iced tea instead of sugar syrup.

Typically, three days. Five days for sweet tea, because the sugar can act as a preservative. Your tea can start to chemically alter depending on many factors (such as water quality, fridge temperature, and whether or not it is stored in a closed container). Once it starts to change in clarity or taste, it should be thrown out.

It's not recommended; however, Brits often add double the amount of teabags (to make the tea stronger) and put in a small amount of canned condensed milk.

Yes, if you want to chill it fast you can put it in the freezer, just don't leave it for very long or it will start to form ice.

Yes, but use caution. If the tea is still a bit hot, you might defrost and spoil other edibles in the freezer. If the ice tea is in a glass or hard plastic container, it may break when the tea freezes.

The safest bet is same-day consumption. However, it will take multiple days until it tastes funny or the appearance changes. Hot brews and brews without sugar or fruit tend to stay good longer.

A large thermos will help keep it cold, or any sealed bottle in a chilly bin/cooler will work for a couple of hours at least.