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Brewing Iced Tea: It’s about time

September 12, 2016 How To..., Tea Basics 0

In the previous post we talked about the basics of brewing tea. Amount of tea, Temperature and Time are are measured for a single strong, but not too bitter cup or pot. However, there are several ways to adjust the method to make the perfect iced tea for you and the time you have to enjoy it.

Cold Brewing: Using 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of cold water and steep for 6-8 hours. The cold water reduces the extraction of the bitter compounds of tea. As a result the long steep produces a lighter more floral infusion. If you steeped it longer and it is a touch bitter, add water to dilute to taste. This works well with Black and Green tea, but Oolong is my favorite.
Iced Brewed Green Tea
Ice Brewing: This is a perfect way to enjoy a warm and relaxing afternoon. Stack as much ice in a cup or a wide mouthed pot and pour 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces. After 20 minutes of partaking in your favorite lounging activity, you are ready for your first pour. White Tea and Green Tea are best for this method. Feel free to add more ice to keep the pot going.

3. Instant Iced Tea: This is the quickest way to a cup of tea in the list, but “instant” is a little exaggeration. In this tea brewing method you would brew everything as you would for a hot cup of tea, but are suggested to add double the amount of tea. The result is a concentrate that can be diluted with ice and be chilled without being watered down.

So there are three options to enjoy a cup or pot of iced tea. Always feel free to adjust the time, temperature or amount to come up with the perfect brewing technique for you.

Brewing Tea: It’s about time

August 30, 2016 How To..., Talking Tea, Tea Basics 0

Brewing tea is easy! Regardless of how you made it, if the taste suits you, you brewed it right! If you didn’t care for the taste, because it wasn’t strong enough or too bitter then this post might help you.

Each type of tea has a recommended water temperature and steeping time for optimal flavor. But if you aren’t too fussy or you are too busy to fuss, the water temperature is the number 1 thing to pay attention to. Green tea typically requires lower temperature water, which means you should stop applying heat before water comes to a boil or let the pot cool off for 3 minutes after a boil. Green tea requires the least amount of time for steeping. 3 Minutes. That’s it. Green tea will get very bitter if any longer than that. Black tea can go for a maximum of 5 minutes, but I actually prefer 4. White Tea and Oolong can go for a full 5 minutes because these teas don’t get bitter as quickly as Green or Black Teas.

Tea Brewing Chart

Above is a chart that serves as an overview of the brewing requirement for tea. It serves as a guideline and can be adjusted for personal tastes. If you typically require sugar with your cup of tea, you’ll be surprised by how little you’ll need if you reduce the amount of steeping time.

3 Essential Things you need to known about Kombucha Tea

August 10, 2016 How To..., Tea Basics 0

There seems to be two different types of people 1) Those who love kombucha and 2) Those that know nothing about it. In this short article I want to go over some basics.

Kombucha is the drink that is derived from a sweet tea fermented by a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). A green, oolong or black tea is mixed with sugar and the Scoby also known as Mother is added to the mix for 2 to 4 weeks. The result is fizy slightly sweet and slightly sour drink.
Kombucha is commonly found in many grocery stores but can be made at home. Dehydrated Scoby can be bought over the internet, however it is best to get an established Mother from a friend. When trying kombucha for the first time, it is wise to drink a little at a time for your body to get used to this most unusual drink.
Most bottled kombuchas are flavored with fruit, herbs and hibiscus. Home made kombucha can be flavored after the scoby is removed from the tea mixture. This steeping of fruit should be done in the refrigerator to reduce the production of carbon dioxide.

Carve and Tea Sip at Short and Stout Tea

November 6, 2015 How To..., Tea Events 0

Join us for our second Carve and Tea Sip event Sunday, November 13th from 1-3pm.

Carve and Tea Sip Event pairs your favorite activity of drinking tea and your new hobby food carving.

Learn how to carve pumpkins and create a unique center piece for your Thanksgiving table. Instruction, pumpkin and a pot of tea is included for $20 and take home carving knife for $10 more.

Call ahead to reserve your seat.

What’s Brewing in July

July 1, 2014 How To..., What's Brewing 0

Iced Tea for $1

We are celebrating summer with an awesome iced tea deal. Each day we will be selecting one of our premium teas to brew as iced tea and you get to try them at a great price. It’s a great way for you to cool off and try a variety of teas you might not normally try. 16 oz of Iced Tea for $1 until the end of August, enjoy.

French Speaking Night

A French Speaking group is getting together at Short and Stout on Friday July 11th at 6pm. This is an open group for anyone to join.

Short and Stout Mugs

Our much awaited for mugs are here. If you’re a proud Short and Stout Tea Drinker show your stripes. They go for $6.95.

Ideas to Refresh Your Tea Stash

Do you have a drawer full of teas that don’t inspire you to enjoy them? Try these few tips to spark new interest from an old tea.

This time of year herbs are easy to find. Many herbs like mint grow like a weed and there is countless number of potential ingredients found in farmers markets. Go ahead and infuse them into your tea.
Combine flavors already found in your tea drawer. Try combinations like Earl Grey and chamomile and mix two different hibiscus based tisanes together for fruit medley. If you’re using two teabags for one cup make sure to reduce your steeping time or it will be too strong.
Try cold brewing your teas. Put a few teaspoons of tea into a pint of cold water and refrigerate. It’s ready after 6-8 hours, but if it steeped longer or is too strong, just simply dilute it with some water.

3 Steps to Choosing the Right Tea

May 10, 2014 How To..., Tea Basics 0

With so many teas to choose from, there is something for everyone. Whether you know your way around teas and tisanes or you’re new to it all, this guide gives you some practical advice to help choose from Short and Stout’s wide selection. Because who doesn’t get overwhelmed when presented with a host of choices?

Step One: Caffeinated or not. If you don’t mind caffeine, then your options include White, Green, Oolong, Black or Pu-erh tea as well as Yerba Mate tisanes. On the non-caffeinated side, your choices include decaf Black Tea, Herbal Tisanes, Fruit Tisanes and Rooibos.

Step Two: Flavored or Unflavored? Does an infusion of fruit or herbs sound good to you? A spicy chai or do you prefer a traditional straight Green or Black Tea?

Step Three: Consider whether you like bold or light flavor. Bold flavor and caffeine lovers will likely prefer black or Pu-erh tea or Yerba Mate, while those who prefer a lighter flavor will want to consider the White, Green and Oolong teas. Caffeine free bold flavors include hibiscus based fruit tisanes and some Rooibos like our Bomb line which include infusions of pepper. Lighter flavors can come from other Rooibos and Herbal Tisanes.

The options are intriguing and delicious; just make sure you’re having fun, because choosing a tea shouldn’t be frustrating. At Short and Stout, It’s Time for Tea.