I’m a southern man born and raised, and I run on sweet tea. Lately I’ve been experimenting with lowering the amount of sugar (or splenda) I make it with. What I’ve found is that I like the reduced sweetness, but tea bags are so low quality and bitter that I need the sugar to cover it up. Cold brewing and adding a pinch of baking soda help a lot, but I still want more. I think a higher quality tea is going to get me the flavor I’m looking for. So, any suggestions on any part of the process are welcome! What teas to try, brewing methods, etc. Less caffeine is better, I have a lot of heart failure in my family history so I try to minimize caffeine intake.
I’m not sure how you’re doing it but using more teabags for less time in hot water will give you better flavor intensity without the more bitter tannins leeching out.
Try boiling your water, add an extra teabag from your normal amount, and then only steep the tea in it for like 3-4 minutes and see how you like that. I like both liptons or roses tea (just normal versions), neither of which are high quality but are widely available and cheap, with this method.
Yea, longer steep = more bitter. Same with coffee.