Tea Hacks You Will Love!

Tea is nothing, if not timeless. People have been drinking it for thousands of years, and today, it’s even more popular than ever thanks to the many delicious variants available and the research-backed health benefits.

On a cold winter's day, there is nothing better than a piping hot cup of tea and then, on a sweltering summer afternoon, an iced version is just the refreshing pick-me-up you need. Arguably, the only conundrum that comes up when you're brewing tea is this: if you add ice to get your tea to optimal sipping temperature, you'll instantly water it down. If this issue sounds familiar, here's some good news!  We found the easiest hack for drinking tea that instantly solves this issue.

After brewing a hot cup of tea, you want to drink it right away. Obviously, taking a sip too soon would burn your mouth, so you either have to wait until it cools down (and then you might forget about it and wait too long), or add ice, which will dilute the tea. The same problem goes for iced tea: the longer it sits out, the more the ice melts, thus compromising the flavour.

But guess what? You don't have to settle for watery tea. The best part is, all you need is an ice cube tray to fix the problem!

Make Tea Cubes!

Here's our super easy hack for drinking tea. Brew a batch of your favourite tea and pour it into an ice cube tray. Once the tea is frozen an hour or so later, you can add the “tea cubes” to your next cup of tea, that way, your cup of tea won't get diluted as the ice melts.

Get creative with your tea cubes!

While you're at it, why not get a little creative with your tea cubes? You could add a dash of lemon juice or honey, or kick things up a notch with fruit and herbs. We love this hack for entertaining too because when the ice starts melting, the added ingredients provide a lovely, eye-catching garnish to your drinks. The possibilities are endless, but here are some ideas to get you started:

• Green tea + honeydew
• Matcha + mint leaves
• White tea + strawberries + basil
• Chamomile tea + elderflower syrup
• Black tea + blackberry + sage
• Ginger tea + pineapple
• Passionfruit tea + pomegranate seeds 

By the way, these cubes aren't just for tea either. Try popping them into seltzer or lemonade for a fun flavour infusion, or even use them in your smoothies for some added complexity.

You'll be amazed at how tea ice can totally transform a cocktail or mocktail too. Trust us, we have researched this one! Tea Now Vitalise & vodka are a formidable flavour combination.

However you choose to use your tea cubes, rest assured that your beverage will get more flavoursome as the ice dissolves.

Use Your Tea Bags Multiple Times!

Unlike supermarket tea bags, Tea Now wellness teas are made from whole leaves or young tea buds. Tea in this form often doesn’t release all the flavour at once. Thus, discarding your tea after one steep is absolutely a waste.

Generally, the flavour in supermarket tea bags is extracted much faster because the leaves are crushed into small particles. However, at Tea Now we only use the highest grade, organically grown leaves which means you can use each tea bag up to 3 times without compromising the taste or effectiveness.

Our blends are artisan teas, created by an organic herbalist. We believe the first steep generally isn’t the best for different reasons. Some teas are tightly rolled and often haven’t even fully unfurled after one steep. The best is yet to come, and you’ll miss out if you only use the tea bag once.

Other teas may still have unpleasant smoky notes due to specific processing methods. If you don’t like such notes, you should definitely not give up on the teas. If you keep using the tea bag you’ll find out that the taste will become softer and smoother at the 2nd and 3rd steeping.

Pu'Erh teas may have similar issues as described above as they are often compressed. So, for example, when you steep Tea Now’s Revive which contains Pu'Erh, the first steep is mainly about loosening up the tea.

Here’s our super easy way to reuse your tea bags!

• Remove the tea bag from the cup and gently squeeze it. Be sure to remove excess water. Any water left in the tea bag will continuously extract the flavour, making it bitter.
• Place your tea bag on an egg cup and let it come to room temperature for around 10 to 15 minutes. We prefer an egg cup as any excess water in the tea bag pools within the egg cup. Please don’t let your tea bag stew in this liquid, it needs to sit above it.
• Once at room temperature and with no excess water present, place the tea bag in the fridge for better preservation.
• Remove the tea bag from the fridge approximately 10 minutes before use. This allows the tea leaves to come to room temperature and is better for tea preparation.

You're welcome.

If you are needing ideas on which foods to best pair with your tea, be sure to read our popular post on Tea Pairing.

Kerri Imrie has a Diploma in Business Management and is the founder of Tea Now.

Kerri is passionate about holistic health. Her goal is to empower people to take control of their health and show that the quality of our lives is directly linked to how we treat our bodies and minds. You can follow her @teanow.au

Kerri is not a qualified health practitioner. Always consult a health professional before deciding if a health product is right for you.