When you think of summer, you’re liable to think of many things. Maybe cookouts. Or fireworks. Or possibly even campouts, if not vacations.
However, as the air temperature goes up, you’re also liable to think about things that bring your own personal temperature down. Swimming pools. Ice cream. And cold beverages.
Tea is big business around our household, mostly of the hot variety. Cold tea is cool, too, but if you don’t want it made from a powdered mix, it takes some work to make: you’ve got to heat the water, then brew the tea, then let it cool — and maybe do some other things in between to get that perfect iced tea.
What if, though, making iced tea was as easy as making hot tea? What if you could simply and quickly cold brew your iced tea? Some grocers carry a solution, and that includes Aldi’s distant cousin, Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Iced Tea — black tea with lemon, it says — can be found on the store’s shelves during the summer months. It comes in a box of 18 tea bags and currently costs $2.69. That comes out to about 15 cents a tea bag, or $2.38 an ounce. That’s a little more than the 13 cents an ounce that cold brew goes for at Walmart, but is still on the low end of prices both at Walmart and on Amazon.
This tea contains a handful of ingredients in addition to the obvious black tea, including lemon powder, dried cane syrup, and natural flavors. The tea doesn’t have any calories or any significant quantity of vitamins or minerals. The box doesn’t say anything about caffeine, but we would assume this is caffeinated, with probably the same amount of caffeine as your typical cup of hot black tea.
In case you’re curious, it also says it’s vegan. So that’s great, I guess?
Nutrition information (or lack thereof) and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The tea comes in individual bags. Those bags are stored in a paper bag, in perforated pairs.
To make the tea, put 1-2 tea bags in a cup, pour 8 ounces of cold water over the bags, then let the tea steep. You’ll want to steep the tea for 5 minutes, or longer if you want a “bolder” flavor. Then, squeeze and remove the tea bag, and add ice and sweetener if desired. The tea should be refrigerated after brewing.
It’s good tea. It has a hint of lemon taste but otherwise tastes unsweetened, even though it contains some cane syrup, so just add a little of your favorite sweetener if you need to. Otherwise, this comes out good, especially given that you don’t have to hot brew it and then let it chill. Fast and convenient.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Iced Tea is an easy way to make iced tea. You don’t need boiling water, just cold water, and in 5 minutes you can have your iced tea. It has a touch of lemon but no real sweetness, so if you like your tea unsweetened you’re done; otherwise, you can easily add sweetener. Bonus: the price per bag is competitive compared to other stores. Definitely worth a look for the iced tea fan.
