The Baking Soda Hack For The Clearest, Smoothest Iced Tea

A cold glass of iced tea is perfect on a warm day. Plus, unsweetened tea is made mostly of water, meaning it's an easy way to hydrate when you want something a little different; keep in mind that tea naturally contains about one-third of the caffeine dosage that's in coffee, though you can buy different kinds of caffeine-free teas. If you're serving a pitcher of iced tea and want to avoid that funky, cloudy look this drink gets when it's mixed, you can easily remedy this by adding a little baking soda to your recipe.

Baking soda has plenty of uses outside of just baking. It can neutralize many acids, such as tannins, which are an acidic compound found in many types of leaves, fruit, and bark, including tea leaves. The leaves are then sold for brewing as loose-leaf tea or in teabags after grinding. These tannins aren't cloudy on their own, but once they mix with caffeine in cold temperatures, the reaction results in a cloudy appearance. That's why hot tea doesn't get cloudy, but iced tea does. Thankfully, baking soda neutralizes those tannins, leaving your cold tea clear-looking and smooth-tasting. You only need a small amount for the best results.

A little goes a long way for this simple hack. Baking soda is a powerful ingredient, so just add a dash to a full pitcher of iced tea while you're making it for the best results. For a precise measurement, a dash is usually no more than one-eighth of a teaspoon. Baking soda, which is basic on the pH scale, will neutralize the acidic tannins, preventing them from reacting with the caffeine the way they normally would. Add the baking soda to the pitcher even before adding the water so it makes contact with the water and tea bags right away, as soon as the tea begins to steep.

Both green and black teas are full of tannins, so this trick works best when you're making iced tea with either of those options. You can also use it in sweet iced tea — the unofficial drink of the south  – just keep in mind that neutralizing those tannins also means you'll remove any bitter flavors in the tea, making it a little bit sweeter. With this in mind, you may need less sugar than usual, so adjust the sweetener content to taste.