Tea Forte recently sent me one of their Tea Over Ice™ Brewing Pitchers and a package of Five Over Ice™ Pyramid Infusers
to sample and review. While I’ve sampled and reviewed several iced tea makers in the past; there was just something different about using this uniquely designed teaware.
Tea Over Ice™ Brewing Pitchers
Rating: 
Making iced tea using the Tea Over Ice™ Brewing Pitchers was quite different from traditional methods employed by other tea makers. First of all, there are two pitchers—one for brewing hot tea, and the other for ice to cool the tea. Tea-Over-Ice™ Brewing Pitchers are sculpted from hand-blown heat-resistant glass. They are made to stack for presentation as well as function.
Their distinction comes in the brewing process. Hot tea is steeped for the proper time and then flash-chilled to capture freshly brewed flavor and retain antioxidants, Theanine and other health benefits. Here’s how it’s done:
1. The bottom pitcher (the larger of the two) is filled with ice cubes, and the smaller steeping pitcher is placed on top; followed by a Five Over Ice™ Pyramid Infuser over which hot boiling water is poured. A specially designed lid allows the infuser handle to protrude from the top pitcher for steeping.
2. The tea is steeped three to five minutes according to tea type. Immediately after steeping (and without removing the lid), the tea is poured from the top pitcher and poured over the ice.
3. At this point the tea can be stirred and poured into serving glasses. Makes 24 ounces of freshly steeped iced tea.
In the traditional method for brewing iced tea, a coffee maker-styled brewing system is used to allowed tea to slowly drip into a single pitcher. The tea may or may not have time to steep properly before serving.
Five Over Ice™ Pyramid Infusers
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Larger than the one-cup signature variety, Five Over Ice™ Pyramid Infusers are designed specifically for use with the Tea Over Ice™ Brewing Pitchers and filled with gourmet leaf teas, fruits and herbs. They come in white, black and herbal tea varieties with such names as Raspberry Nectar, Ceylon Gold, White Ginger Pear and Pomegranate Blackberry.
Overall Review
Review
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Flash-Chill process makes the tea very flavorful with no bitterness. The brewing pitchers are attractive as well as functional. | A small drawback is that the pitchers are not large enough to make tea for four or more people at one time. Hopefully Tea Forte will introduce a quart-sized model or larger. |
| Rating |
Since iced tea is not just a summertime drink in the South, brewing it with the Tea Over Ice™ Brewing Pitchers will be a year round pleasure.
