Cloudy Iced Tea

Summer is iced tea season and I often get questions about cloudy iced tea. Why does tea cloud when it is cooled? Black teas will sometimes cloud when cooled. The cloudiness is caused by tannins in the tea which are released into the hot brew but can bind together when the brew cools and cause cloudy tea. Higher quality teas like Darjeeling’s and Assams tend to have more tannins and are more likely to cloud. Hard water can also cause tea to become cloudy. The cloudiness does not affect flavor just the appearance of the tea. To remove the cloudiness add a half cup of boiling water per gallon of tea and stir.

Candie