Sparkling Iced Tea

Before you start

Sparkling iced tea treats tea the way a bartender treats a highball. Instead of brewing a jug and pouring it over ice, you make a strong, chilled tea concentrate, sweeten it lightly, and lengthen it with very cold soda water in a tall glass. The bubbles carry the aroma of the tea up to your nose, so bright, fragrant teas such as Darjeeling, Ceylon or Earl Grey work especially well.

Carbonation is fragile, and everything here is designed to protect it. Every component should be cold, because carbon dioxide escapes fast from warm liquid. Pour the soda down the side of the glass or along a bar spoon, then stir only once. A small amount of acid, from lemon or a pinch of citric acid, sharpens the tea and makes the fizz taste livelier. For carbonation, use bottled soda water or a soda siphon; never seal sweet tea in bottles to ferment it fizzy.

Ingredients

• Tea concentrate12 g (about 2 tbsp loose or 6 bags) black tea — Darjeeling, Ceylon or Earl Grey
• 400 ml (1⅔ cups) water — at 95°C (203°F)
• 40 ml (about 1½ oz) simple syrup (1:1) — or to taste
• 20 ml (4 tsp) fresh lemon juice
• To serve480 ml (2 cups) soda water — very cold, freshly opened
• 4 cups (about 600 g) ice cubes
• 4 lemon wheels or strips of lemon peel

Method

1. Heat the water to about 95°C (203°F) and pour it over the tea. Steep for 4 minutes, no longer, then strain. Longer steeping adds bitterness rather than strength.
2. Stir the simple syrup and lemon juice into the hot tea. Taste it: it should be strong and slightly sweet, since the soda will dilute it by more than half.
3. Cool the concentrate in the jug at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until very cold. Chill the soda water too.
4. Fill the highball glasses to the top with ice. Pour 110 ml of chilled concentrate into each glass.
5. Tilt each glass slightly and pour 120 ml of soda water slowly down the inside of the glass or along the back of a bar spoon to keep the bubbles.
6. Lift the ice gently once from the bottom with the spoon to combine, without stirring around. Garnish with lemon and serve straight away.

Tips for success

• Put the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes before building the drinks. A cold glass helps hold the fizz longer.
• Use small freshly opened bottles of soda water rather than a large bottle opened earlier; once opened, soda loses carbonation fast.
• If the tea turns cloudy in the fridge, it is creaming, which is harmless. Cold brewing or a smaller amount of tea prevents it.

Substitutions

Black tea

Green tea gives a lighter, grassier drink; brew it at 80°C (176°F) for 3 minutes. Oolong adds a toasty, floral depth.

Simple syrup

Honey syrup suits Earl Grey, and ginger syrup gives a spicy edge. For an unsweetened version, skip the syrup and keep the lemon.

Bottled soda water

A soda siphon charged with a CO₂ cartridge works well. You can also carbonate the finished, unsweetened concentrate diluted with water in a home soda maker, if the maker allows liquids other than water.

Variations

Peach sparkling tea

Add 30 ml of peach purée or peach syrup to each glass before the soda.

Hibiscus fizz

Replace half the black tea with dried hibiscus for a tart, deep red sparkling tea.

Troubleshooting

The drink goes flat quickly

The tea or soda was not cold enough, or it was stirred too much. Chill everything thoroughly and lift the ice only once.

It tastes bitter

The tea steeped too long or too hot. Steep for 4 minutes and strain straight away.

The tea flavor disappears

The concentrate was too weak for the amount of soda. Use the full 12 g of tea, or reduce the soda to 90 ml per glass.

Storage

Build each drink just before serving. The sweetened concentrate keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Discard it if it tastes sour or looks slimy.

Safety notes

Each drink contains caffeine from about 3 g of black tea, roughly similar to a cup of brewed black tea. The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults.