To make strong tea concentrate make tea as you normally would but add additional tea bags to the tea to make it stronger than normal.
Then when ready you can dilute the strong tea concentrate with water.
The rule when making a tea concentrate is this: for every ounce of water, use 1 teaspoon of tea.
The ratio gets adjusted slightly for larger quantities.
Therefore, for a quart-size Mason jar of concentrate, about 1/3 cup of tea leaves is used, depending on the variety of tea.
Tea concentrate when sealed lasts around 12 months to as long as 23 months.
Once opened the tea concentrate usually lasts a few weeks.
Tea concentrate when sealed will last for a few weeks in the refrigerator and up to a year in the freezer.
One opened the tea concentrate is usually good for around a week.
You can freeze sweet tea concentrate and it will keep for up to a year.
Although the sweet tea concentrate is best used within a few months to 6 months of freezing.
Sweet tea concentrate will keep for around a week in the refrigerator.
Iced tea will last in the freezer for up to a year although it loses it's taste and quality within 3 to 6 months of being frozen.
It's best to drink the frozen iced tea within 6 months or less of freezing it.
Freezing tea does keep the tea fresh and keeps it from spoiling although freezing the tea and then thawing it and reheating it can weaken the flavor of the tea can cause it to take on a bitter taste.
When you freeze iced tea the iced tea loses some of it's aroma and taste although it will still be good to drink.
If you keep the iced tea just cold and not frozen then it will be fine and not change it's aroma or taste.
Brewed tea will last in the refrigerator for around 3 to 5 days before it goes bad.
If you want to keep the brewed tea longer than you can put the tea in a jug such as a milk jug, soda bottle etc and then freeze it.
Frozen tea will keep for a year or longer.
You can leave iced tea on the counter for up to 8 hours before it starts to spoil and goes bad.
If the iced tea was left out on the counter for longer than 8 hours then it has likely started going sour and should be thrown out.
The amount of sugar that goes into a gallon of sweet tea is 1 cup of sugar.
Although if you want your sweet tea to be sweeter then you can put 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar into the sweet tea until it's sweet enough.
You can freeze a gallon of tea to keep the tea longer.
To freeze a gallon of tea you can put it in a milk jug or freeze a gallon of tea in the jug that it comes in.
Frozen tea will last for around 6 months before the taste starts to change.
Iced tea does mold when left out too long or when left in the refrigerator too long.
Tea leaves can also get moldy or harbor spores that can grow later on when the tea leaves have been improperly stored before further processing and distribution.
One of the main reasons tea leaves are at high risk of getting moldy is that they are usually grown in hot and tropical locations.
There's not always bacteria in tea although tea can contain bacteria.
Tea leaves can become contaminated with coliform bacteria although it's rare.
Black mold and other mold can grow on tea and other mold can grow in tea that is brewed as well.
If your tea bags are stored in humid conditions, they can become moldy.
Even under perfect conditions, over time, tea bags can go stale, making the tea almost as unpleasant as if it were moldy.
You can tell if tea is moldy by looking at it.
Tea that has become moldy will have either green or gray mold spores growing in the tea and if so you should throw the tea out.
The fungi type that's most likely found in iced tea and brewed tea comes from the Aspergillus group.
Although Aspergillus is relatively common both inside and outdoors, most people inhale fungal spores daily.
It's unlikely that you'll be able to avoid inhaling spores from this mold.
To cold brew tea.
Place tea bags in the bottom of a large container or glass pitcher.
Pour in room temperature or cold water.
Cover the container/pitcher and refrigerate. Steep for 8-12 hours.
Remove the tea bags and discard.
Serve tea over ice with fresh lemon slices and sweetener of your choice.
Iced tea will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator as long as it's kept sealed.
If not sealed the iced tea will usually only last for 3 to 4 days.
Tea bags should steep for up to 5 minutes.
The longer you leave the tea bag to steep the stronger the tea will become.
Steeping tea too long can be bad as it can increase the Caffeine in the tea which leads to the tea becoming bitter or sour tasting.
So you don't want to over steep the tea.
Steeping tea usually takes between 3 to 5 minutes which is enough time to make good tea.
Tea gets sour and spoils due to heat, humidity and air which then leads to bacteria growing in the brewed tea.
To keep your tea from souring you should keep it refrigerated if not drinking or serving the tea within a few hours.
Tea can also get sour taste when brewing it as a result of steeping or brewing it too long or because of too many tannins in the tea.
You can get sick from drinking old tea if the old tea has gone sour.