Cold Steeped Iced Tea - Deckan Coffee Company Jasmine # 4 [Fair Trade] Organic

So another cool new item I bought for myself recently is a ForLife Mist Ice Tea Jug. I have been debating on this pitcher for a while now. I think I added it to my Amazon wishlist for the first time last summer. I bought it for myself a couple of weeks ago. It is money well spent, and I know it will be even more utilized as the weather warms.

(photo from ForLife)

So I've played with it a few times, tried a couple of different teas. I've decided so far that I like jasmines in it a lot. I did some jasmine pearls first, and now this is the second time I've done just the loose leaf non-pearl style.

The way this jug is designed the leaves stay in all the time. I would not want that in a hot brew at all, but doing this as a totally cold steep it's working pretty well. The filter keeps the loose leaves in and it sure looks pretty.

The leaves that are currently in my pitcher are Jasmine #4 Fair Trade Organic from Deckan Coffee Company. Deckan is a local coffee company that also has started carrying tea. My local, family-owned grocery store carries these in bulk at great prices, so I've got a lot of the Deckan teas in my cupboard. I don't know how they compare to other companies since I haven't had many other teas yet, but I like their teas pretty well. This jasmine, for example, has a great scent. I like the fact that it's fair trade, too.

Iced or cold steeping is a really easy process. Some people rinse their leaves first in hot water for a very brief steep of 30 seconds or less, some don't. I didn't. I just poured a bunch of loose leaf in the bottom of my pitcher, added cold water, and put it in the fridge. It's a good idea to start checking your tea after about 3 hours to see if it's at the level you want. I actually enjoy starting with about 3 hours and having some, but leaving it in the fridge and trying again a few hours later, and then a few hours after that, to try the different levels.

I put these leaves in on Wednesday and drank a good half of the pitcher. Since I'd put in more leaves than I should probably have to start, I just added more water and figured I'd see how it went. Then I didn't drink it later. Oops. Yeah, perhaps this has been in the fridge a little too long, but it still tastes pretty good. My wonderful husband decided he wanted to try it tonight. I warned him that the leaves might have steeped a little too long, but he said it tastes good and he likes it. Since he normally doesn't drink any of my teas, this is a huge step for him. (He then also asked me if they could be re-steeped again, and told me to add more water and we could see what happens. So I did, and we'll find out.)

The jasmine scent and flavor on this is very nice. It's a little oversteeped, so just starting to get a touch bitter. I'm surprised it's not more bitter now, actually. It has a beautiful, just barely grassy green color.