Skid Row Joe
Texas and on-the-road
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Joined: 04/26/2006
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I made/brewed a gallon jar of ice tea with the large tea bags on the countertop in my sticks 'n bricks home yesterday afternoon.....
Now here's the question; does this stuff need to be refrigerated, and if so, how long is it good for just sitting on the countertop at room temperature?
I have always refrigerated it - but I bought a watermellon that's taking up all the room in the refrigerator. I can only eat so much watermellon or drink so much tea a day.
I'd put the ice tea or the watermellon in the motorcoach's galley refrigerator - except while I'm at my homebase in Texas, the coach sits at a somewhat severe angle where the refer won't function properly on the slope of my lot/land.
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Joy
Henderson KY 42420
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Personally, I do not like tea that has set around for more than a couple of hours. Don drinks it for a couple of days without ref.(unsweetened or with sugar substitutes) I would think that unsweetened would stay good longer than sweetened.
See ya' down the road!
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AllisonAndrews
Stephenville, TX
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Joined: 08/02/2005
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It ate my response, but here is a copy and paste from another site:
From Susan Krumm, family and consumer sciences with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County:
While tea leaves can become contaminated with coliform bacteria, the most probable cause of the introduction of bacteria to tea is through errors in food handling. To support this, the Tea Association showed that tea brewed in a clean urn at 175 degrees or higher and stored at room temperature had no detectable coliform counts during the first 16 hours of storage. Thus, if the tea is brewed at an appropriate temperature, storage conditions and/or cleaning and disinfecting of the tea dispenser becomes the primary areas that could lead to contamination.
Here are some recommendations to minimize the risk that may come with drinking iced tea:
• Sun tea is not recommended. The practice of making “sun tea” by steeping the bags in a container of water in the sun may be a higher risk than brewing tea at high temperatures because it provides an environment where bacteria are more likely to survive and multiply.
• Iced tea should be brewed at 195 degrees for three to five minutes and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• Store tea bags or loose tea in a dark, cool and dry place away from strong odors and moisture. Do not store tea bags in the refrigerator. Do not store tea in containers above the stove because it is too humid and warm. You can store tea bags in a freezer container, within the freezer.
• Never hold finished brewed tea for more than eight hours at room temperature. The recommendation is to make only enough for immediate use.
Brew-in-the-fridge iced tea
1 quart cold water in a container
4 or 5 tea bags (or one Numi Iced Tea one-quart size tea bag)
Refrigerator for two hours or overnight (the longer the tea steeps, the better the taste.) Remove the tea bags by squeezing them gently between two large spoons. Add fruit sections, sugar, sweetener or ice, as desired. Keep tea refrigerated. Enjoy!
ALLISON & DAVID
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Dave n Holly
Lansing IL
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AllisonAndrews wrote:It ate my response, but here is a copy and paste from another site:
Here are some recommendations to minimize the risk that may come with drinking iced tea:
• Sun tea is not recommended. The practice of making “sun tea” by steeping the bags in a container of water in the sun may be a higher risk than brewing tea at high temperatures because it provides an environment where bacteria are more likely to survive and multiply.
Wow Never realized this about Sun Tea!
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ridingfamily4
Corona, CA
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I have never heard of people dying of iced tea poisoning and I have never gotten sick from leaving it out for a day or two...
as for the watermelon storage, do you cut up your watermelon or is it stored whole? I cut mine into 1" chunks and store in ziploc type bags. it is much easier to store that way and I find that it gets eaten faster if it is easier to handle.
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AllisonAndrews
Stephenville, TX
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Joined: 08/02/2005
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ridingfamily4 wrote:I have never heard of people dying of iced tea poisoning and I have never gotten sick from leaving it out for a day or two...
as for the watermelon storage, do you cut up your watermelon or is it stored whole? I cut mine into 1" chunks and store in ziploc type bags. it is much easier to store that way and I find that it gets eaten faster if it is easier to handle.
Yeah, me either. But I believe the sites and do think it might be a possibility. Personally, flavor dictates how I store it. I only like it a few hours at room temperature, and only 1-2 days in the fridge.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/family/facts/icedtea.htm
http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/suntea.asp
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coolbreeze01
Redding, Ca
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Joined: 08/24/2006
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Now I know why sun tea tastes better
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PUCampin
Castaic
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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We are big tea drinkers. Properly brewed tea for us tastes good for 24hrs. After that it starts to taste old. We usually consume it all before it gets to that point though.
Old tea is really a pet peave when it comes to fast food places. Unless they have a tea drinker on staff, they never clean, brew, and toss old tea properly. At one nice sandwich shop, we told them their tea was old and bad, they said ok we'll take care of it. I watched an employee take good fresh brewed tea, and dump it into the urn on top of the old tea!! 
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pbitschura
SE MN
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Joined: 01/17/2005
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I have used Lipton tea bags, three per gallon in a sealed pickle jar, on the patio, for years. It brews 4-16 hours, depending on how busy I am. I then add 1/2 cup sugar and three glugs of bottled lemon juice. Then refrigetate. I think it tastes fresh for 2-3 days thereafter. It certainly tastes fine unrefrigerated for 24 hours.
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Ace!
So Oregon
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Joined: 05/23/2005
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Yeah, you can get sick from the bacteria. Getting sick doesn't happen that often, but you want to keep most things under 40-degrees or over 140-degrees (more or less) to inhibit food bourne illnesses. So, brew tea at 180 - 195 (whatever), then get it in the fridge to cool it as soon as possible. The bacteria grows at between 40 and 140 (more or less) so you want to limit the amount of time the tea (or any food) is between those temperatures.
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