The holidays bring people together over food and drinks like no other time of year. So when faced with entertaining a large crowd, how do you keep the tea flowing? Preparing fresh brewed iced tea for a large crowd is really quite simple. Note the required equipment. You can do this with what you generally have at home. However, if you are a routine entertainer, we’ve provided some pointers on what to pick up at restaurant supply stores or online that will make your life easier.

The instructions below are for preparation of fresh brewed loose leaf iced tea that is stored at room temperature in a pitcher or large container, ready to pour for guests over ice. You can also make cold brewed iced tea for guests

Equipment for fresh brewed iced tea:

• You need a pitcher that you are fine with sitting out on the counter all day. A pitcher with a lid is best, but you can do this with an open pitcher. Generally you will find half gallon pitchers at most stores. You will find gallon pitchers at restaurant stores, which come in very handy when your guest count goes over 15 people.
• You need a large pot to boil water in, it should hold at least 4 quarts.
• A thermometer to measure water temperature if you plan on brewing anything other than black or tisane tea.
• Wire Mesh Strainer (the finer the mesh the better).

Instructions for brewing:

• Add 8 1/4 cups of water, a little over 1/2 gallon of water, to your pot and turn the burner on to high.
• Allow the water to come to a boil and then add 1 cup of loose leaf tea. Turn the burner off.
• If brewing a white, green or oolong tea, turn off the burner and remove the pot from the burner. Allow to cool for about 3 minutes and then put in your thermometer, you are looking for 190 degrees before adding the tea. If using voluminous white tea make this 1 1/3 to 2 cups.
• For black or tisane tea, allow to steep for 5 minutes. For an oolong tea, allow to steep for 4 minutes. For a green or white tea, allow to steep for 3 minutes.
• Pour the tea through the strainer into your pitcher and leave on the counter.
• Serve the tea directly over ice. Since the tea is at room temperature and concentrated, a good amount of ice is expected to melt.
• Since the tea will have sat out all day, you should discard any unused tea at the end of the day, especially if it was in an open pitcher. Feel free to water your plants with it. As long as there is no sugar in it, they will love you for it.