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I'm currently making iced green tea by placing two green tea bags into 500 ml of water and moving the bags arround for 2 to 5 minutes before placing the whole mixture into the fridge in a sealed container. After a few hours I remove the tea bags leaving the iced tea in the fridge until it is wanted.

So far I have made flavoured iced green tea by either using flavoured tea bags or by adding honey and/or lemon. I would like to be able to add flavour without using flavoured tea bags and would like some ideas on other flavours to try as honey and lemon is pretty basic?

3 Answers 3

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Have you tried using one green tea bag and one bag of herbal tea? There are many herbal tea sampler packs that you could get to try several flavors of tea. Since you are making iced tea, I would also recommend adding chopped fruit once the tea has chilled - I would imagine some crisp apples or even a fresh melon would add a really refreshing profile. You can even let the fruits steep in the chilled liquid, like a tea-sangria.

Another option is to create a flavored simple syrup in order to sweeten your iced tea. It's always better to use a simple syrup in a cold liquid than any kind of 'dry' sugar. Simple syrup is easy to make on the stove or in the microwave, and just add some flavors you might like while heating it. I wouldn't recommend vanilla for green tea (gut reaction), but maybe lavender, orange or cardamom?

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In China, there are a myriad of different flavors of tea. Withing the green teas themselves there is allot of variety. Some teas are stronger than others. Some are sweet or bitter. Trying out different varieties of tea is a good place to start. Is there a local China town in your city where you might obtain tea? Alternatively you can source online.

Other common additions are items such as dried flowers (like chrysathiums and jasmin), some nuts and dried fruits (like dried Chinese dates), herbs (like lemon grass) and a whole range of other stuff which I just don't know the names of. Again if you can find a local Chinese supply shop or look online you should be able to order various blends to try out.

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  • Good answer. Dried rose petals are also easily available (a friend gave me some), and work well with green tea and honey. Rosewater is another way of adding the same flavor.
    – BobMcGee
    Aug 18, 2011 at 14:46
  • To add this this - having lived in China, tea is often served cooled (not iced, as they don't really do iced tea) with Goji Berring, Daisy petals, as well as little tiny purple flowers that look like pansies (but aren't).
    – J Crosby
    Jun 28, 2019 at 17:07
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Ingredients often used in China to flavor green tea are the following (i've separated them in fruity and flowery depending on what end result you want to achieve):

Fruity: - Goji berries - Jujube fruits

Flowery: - Osmanthus flowers - Lavender flowers - Chrysanthemum flower

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