It seems like every few years I’ll try some iced tea, and when I do, I always have the same reaction… “Agghh, what is this? This doesn’t taste like tea at all!” Then I’ll either put it in my refrigerator and dump it out later, or grudgingly finish it. I also tried making iced tea from real oolong tea, but actually the results are not so different from store-bought iced tea. Basically, when the tea cools and sits around for awhile like that, the flavor changes completely. The original character is gone, and instead there is just something bland, bitter, and cold, that needs to be sweetened up with sugar to be palatable. 😉
Sorry if this seems to harsh, but I have not seen many redeeming qualities in iced tea. Even in the hot summer, I would prefer green tea, but just cooled down for a few minutes so it is milder and has a cooling effect on the body. In TCM terms, not every hot drink is warming, and even a warm drink may be able to have a cooling effect on the body.
