Hot tea to iced. Safe?
I want to boil tap water and use tea bags but since summer is coming I want to make it cold. Is it safe if I let it to get to room temperature and then put it in the fridge?
Best Answer
Please see Food Safety News: Did You Know Iced Tea Safety which gives the very strict FDA guidelines for iced tea as:
- Iced tea sould be brewed at 195 F for 3-5 minutes.
- Iced tea should be stored for no longer than 8 hours.
- The tea brewer, storage dispenser, and faucet should be cleaned daily.
while pointing out that "Tea is a beverage with little history of disease transmission."
Applying some common sense, assuming that you:
- Keep all of your tea equipment "impeccably clean" as Julia Child used to say
- Do not leave it very long at room temperature
- Refrigerate it thereafter
given that tea does not have a huge number of nutrients to encourage pathogen growth, the risk should be minimal, although non-zero.
You must assess your own tolerance for risk, but this is not an activity that is inherently highly dangerous.
Finally, please note that modern refrigerators perform very well, and there is minimal heating of the other foods, even if you put a fairly large volume of tea in the refrigerator to cool. See: How effective are modern home refrigerators at keeping other foods cool when hot food is introduced to the space?
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Can I put hot tea over ice?
Black tea is commonly used for iced tea, but white tea, green tea, and oolong tea also work particularly well over ice without losing flavor integrity or aroma. Some herbal teas - particularly fruit and hibiscus blends - are very refreshing iced. Regardless, all tea types will make for lovely iced teas!Is it safe to put hot tea in the fridge?
The good news is that you can store your cup of tea in the fridge overnight. For hot-brewed tea, it is recommended that you don't keep your tea in the fridge more than 8 hours. If you're going for an iced tea, you're good! Pull it out, maybe pour it over some ice, and enjoy.Can you drink hot teas cold?
It's the second-most consumed beverage in the entire world, beaten only by water. While tea can be enjoyed both hot and cold, hot tea has a reputation for being particularly comforting.How long should you let tea cool before refrigerating?
Cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Putting hot tea straight in the fridge is another surefire way to end up with cloudy tea. For best results, refrigerate within one hour.Hot Tea to Iced Tea (Single Serving)
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Answer 2
From a food safety perspective the main question is whether you add sugar while it is hot, or after it is cold. Sugar will feed pathogens, so if it is sugared while hot you are better off chilling it quickly rather than letting it cool to room temperature, as it will take a long time to do so. While it cools any pathogens will have time to grow for a long time at optimal temperature.
From a taste perspective letting it cool to room temperature is a bad idea as it will lose freshness and flavor, chilling it as quick as you can will give you a better result. I've had good results using re-usable ice cubes although they don't last and take up space. My preferred method of rapid cooling is to put a metal pot plus a bunch of big spoons and stainless steel flatware into the freezer, letting them get nice and cold, than pouring the hot tea into the pot. The cold metal absorbs quite a bit of heat very quickly, then the tea can be poured into a storage container and put into the fridge. A quick rinse and the pot and flatware are ready to use again.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Mareefe, Dina Nasyrova, Pixabay, George Dolgikh @ Giftpundits.com