I changed my mind about iced tea.

Cold infusions are the key. Plus, how to get your tea while I'm on vacation!

Hello friends,

I could probably count on both hands the number of times I’ve ordered iced tea in a restaurant or bought it bottled on a road trip. I never felt like it was worth the bother. It’s amazing how mass-produced iced tea can come off as tasteless and watered-down, and also oversteeped and bitter at the same time! No wonder most of the time, bottled iced tea contains tons of sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup) just to make it palatable. In the United States, something like 85% of the tea we consume is iced. And so much of it is really lackluster.

After I interviewed “the Rare Tea Lady” Henrietta Lovell for a recent podcast episode, we stayed on the line for a few more minutes so I could also get her take on iced and cold teas for an article in Tea Journey, a digital publication for tea lovers.

Henrietta’s claim: iced tea doesn’t have to taste bad, and it all starts with a cold infusion. You can read that article here: Making Cold Infused Tea: Q&A with Henrietta Lovell. And in the audio clip below, Henrietta explains just why cold infusions create a smoother, more flavorful, and more stable iced tea.

Since chatting with Henrietta, I’ve been making cold infusions daily, and guess what? I’m a total convert. The flavors are subtle, complex, and naturally sweet; never bitter or bland.

Here’s how I’ve been making my cold-infused tea: I put about 4 tablespoons of dry tea leaves in a large canning jar, add two quarts of cold filtered water, shake it gently a few times, cap it and put in the fridge overnight. 10-12 hours later, I pour it through a strainer into a new jar, and there you have it: cold-infused tea. So easy, and so delicious and refreshing on the hot days we’ve been having!

As Henrietta points out in the article, any tea can be made cold or iced; no need to buy special “iced tea” blends. And she’s totally right that some teas that taste just so-so hot are amazing in a cold infusion! A note that these instructions are suited to “true” teas, steeped from leaves of the camellia sinensis plant (you’ll know them as white, green, oolong, black, or pu’ehr tea.) Herbal infusions will often taste best if you steep them in hot water, then cool and chill, due to differences in the molecular structure — but experiment with your own infusions and see what you think. That’s part of the fun of tea, after all.

I’d love to hear if you try the cold infusion method. Let me know how it works for you!

Last chance (sort of) for tea at Bevy St. Joe!

I’m going out of town June 27 - July 13, and Bevy South will be closed. But don’t fret! There are a few different ways you can get your tea fix while I’m gone:

-Come see me this Thursday. I’ll be at Bevy from 10-12 and can serve you then!

-Visit my Honor Store in the Infinity Wellness lobby. I’ll have some prepackaged bulk teas as well as a few other essentials in a new self-serve area to the right of the check-in desk (where the hot water dispenser is.) You can pay via Venmo, CashApp, leave cash or an IOU in the box, or text your order to 269-277-3845 and I’ll collect when I’m back in town.

-Have a special request or need an item that’s not in the self-serve area? Send me a text and let me know what you’re looking for and I can arrange for a pickup with someone at Infinity Wellness. Again, that’s 269-277-3845.

I’ll be back the week of July 14, refreshed and ready to talk tea - hot and cold - again! See you then, tea-loving friends.

Warmly,

Meagan

PS: If you live in the Upper Peninsula or will be visiting soon, I’d love for you to come see me at Bevy North inside The Mill Manistique! I’ll be working in that store quite a bit June 28 - July 6. After that, I’m taking a few days’ getaway to the Keweenaw Peninsula with my husband, where I plan to enjoy many cups of tea overlooking Lake Superior, and will definitely visit the Four Seasons Tea Room in Houghton.