Remember how people made tea in America back in the 20th century?

Take the hottest and stickiest of summer days, boil (yes make your kitchen hotter than it already is), place half a box of Lipton in a pitcher, let it steep, remove the tea bags, stir in almost an entire bag of Domino’s Finest Sugar, top with ice and pour into a glass with ice and one lemon wedge.

This was the only permissible way to make iced tea. In most places in the South and Midwest it still is. Sweet tea. Sweet, sweet tea.

And we would like to tell iced tea drinkers there is a new way to make your favorite cold brew.

We found the easiest and most tastiest way to make iced tea is to fill a pitcher with water, add a few tablespoons of loose tea and pop it in the frigidaire overnight. Amount of tea needed really depends on type of tea used and personal taste.

Bodum’s Bistro Iced Tea Maker simplifies the art of iced tea with a full length, removable basket that is placed inside the pitcher. For a more do it yourself option, have two similar sized pitcher and a tea filter handy. Let the tea leaves brew loose over night in one pitcher and the next day pour the pitcher over a handled tea strainer and into the alternative pitcher.

Cold, refrigerator tea definitely has a taste advantage over the traditional iced tea, less tannins (that bitter tea taste), and acquires a natural sweetness that you just might not need sugar with. We found that refrigerator brewed tea brings out more of the natural character of the different types of tea and the cold tea is the most flavorful freshly brewed so drink within 48 hours.