Mr Coffee Iced Tea Maker?

[lukenick1]

Just bought myself one of these today. Just wondering if any of you sweeten it and how? The instructions say you can add sweetener to the basket but when i put the sugar in it just stuck inside the basket. Also, any good tea recommendations?

 

[jms920]

We've used one of these for many years and love it. My DH loves green tea and I like regular. We use to put a little hot tap water into the bottom of the pitcher and dissolve sugar in it before turning the pot on. Now we both use splenda so just use that by the glass.

 

[lukenick1]

We've used one of these for many years and love it. My DH loves green tea and I like regular. We use to put a little hot tap water into the bottom of the pitcher and dissolve sugar in it before turning the pot on. Now we both use splenda so just use that by the glass.

Now the challenge will be figuring out how many sugars to add to each liter.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I buy a box of Splenda packets at Costco. For the 1/2 gallon I will use four to six tea bags and four packets of Splenda in the basket. When the brewing cycle is complete all the Splenda will have been dissolved.

 

[jsmith]

We have worn out like 4 of these in the course of our marriage. I generally make unsweetened tea cause the spousal unit doesnt like sweet-howver sometimes i make sweet-i do it this way
put 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of sugar in the bottom of the pitcher, and the brew the tea thru the basket without putting the ice in. As soon as the tea is done brewing i stir til the sugar is disolved and then add the ice and cold water to fill up the pitcher. Comes out perfect every time.

 

[AnjieNet]

We used to put the sweetener in with the tea bags. Always was too sweet or not enough. Couldn't ever get it perfect. Now we just sweeten a glass as we go. I like unsweetened tea as well, so I can switch if I'm in the mood that way.

 

[lukenick1]

We have worn out like 4 of these in the course of our marriage. I generally make unsweetened tea cause the spousal unit doesnt like sweet-howver sometimes i make sweet-i do it this way
put 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of sugar in the bottom of the pitcher, and the brew the tea thru the basket without putting the ice in. As soon as the tea is done brewing i stir til the sugar is disolved and then add the ice and cold water to fill up the pitcher. Comes out perfect every time.

Ok question.....
how many tea bags? Also how much do you fill the reservoir up? After its done what is the measurements of ice and water?
Thanks

 

[AnjieNet]

Ok question.....
how many tea bags? Also how much do you fill the reservoir up? After its done what is the measurements of ice and water?
Thanks

It's generally 1 family size bag per quart of tea. We have a 3 quart maker (it's older, don't know if they still make this size?) and don't like really strong tea so we only use two. Fill up the reservoir to the top (or fill line which some have). If using ice, fill the pitcher full with ice as well. If using water, fill the pitcher up halfway with water. Hit button and you're set!

 

[lukenick1]

It's generally 1 family size bag per quart of tea. We have a 3 quart maker (it's older, don't know if they still make this size?) and don't like really strong tea so we only use two. Fill up the reservoir to the top (or fill line which some have). If using ice, fill the pitcher full with ice as well. If using water, fill the pitcher up halfway with water. Hit button and you're set!

Family size bag of tea? Where do you find those?
Yes mine is a 3 quart as well.

 

[AnjieNet]

Family size bag of tea? Where do you find those?
Yes mine is a 3 quart as well.

Any grocery store or Wal-mart has them. We get the Wal-mart Great Value brand but Lipton and Luzianne have them too. Comes in a box of 24 and will say Family Size on the box.

 

[LoriNSC]

Well-I'm in the south so we have to have our sweet tea. I always use my tea maker. I use 2 Tetley round tea bags. I add my sugar in my gallon size tea jug then pour the hot tea from the maker's pitcher in when it's done & add more water to fill the jug. Then, I just stir it up. With the hot tea, the sugar dissolves very quickly. You can use Splenda (or whatever sweetener you prefer).

 

[jms920]

I always feel that the tea bags absorb some of the sugar/splenda that's why I prefer to put it in the pitcher.

BTW I buy the sweetener at BJ's and buy their brand in the yellow box. It is exactly like Splenda but $4.00 less for the 700 box.

DH uses 14 green tea bags for 3qt. I use 6 Lipton or other brand bags for mine.

We've had our tea maker for about 15 years. We moved it to the motorhome and purchased a new one for the house. It's a must have for us!

 

[PaulaSue]

I got mine over 15 years ago (wedding) and use it 3-5 times a week everyweek. We use 8 regular tea bags (lipton) and we use pink sugar to sweeten each glass as we go. no filter and no sugar in the 2 quart pitcher.

 

[ksloane]

I do mine like others mentioned.

I put just enough hot water in the bottom of the my canister to cover the sugar and mix it before I start the process.

I also don't add any ice to mine. I just fill it up with water and put it in the refrigerator.

 

[nilseks]

I use 8 green tea bags, no ice. When I first tried it with ice, I felt like it was too watered down. I like to run ALL the water through the tea bags.

I put it in the fridge unsweetened and just sweeten each glass as I go.

 

[bettymae1121]

The ice tea maker I got worked fine, but the two pitchers that came with it cracked after about a year, it couldn't handle the hot/cold swings and both cracked while brewing (what a mess!).

Now I just boil a 3 qt. pot of water on the stove, dunk the tea bags in that and then pour it into a rubermaid pitcher half full of water and ice. Easy as pie!

 

[jms920]

I use 8 green tea bags, no ice. When I first tried it with ice, I felt like it was too watered down. I like to run ALL the water through the tea bags.

I put it in the fridge unsweetened and just sweeten each glass as I go.

That's a great idea, maybe then my DH will use less tea bags. He complains it is too watered down unless he uses 14 green bags

 

[jms920]

The ice tea maker I got worked fine, but the two pitchers that came with it cracked after about a year, it couldn't handle the hot/cold swings and both cracked while brewing (what a mess!).

Now I just boil a 3 qt. pot of water on the stove, dunk the tea bags in that and then pour it into a rubermaid pitcher half full of water and ice. Easy as pie!

That's odd, I still haven't even touched the 2nd picture that came with my old tea maker.

 

[Plumeria9]

I got one of these a few years ago after using a Hamilton Beach one for a while. That one started to leak from the base, so I had to switch. I only bought the Mr. Coffee one when they re-designed it from the large, round shape to the rectangular pitcher. I have a problem w/ things that take up too much space!
Anyhow, I am the only one who drinks the tea. I make it w/ green tea bags (Costco). If I'm making 3 qts I use 7 teabags. If I'm making 2 qts I use 5. I use a paper clip to keep all of the teabag tags (?) together instead of having them all over the place. I sweeten w/ Splenda in the container I'm storing it in. I use a Tupperware 2 qt-ish pitcher, so I just put in about 1/3 cup of Splenda and shake it up. HTH!

 

[AnjieNet]

That's odd, I still haven't even touched the 2nd picture that came with my old tea maker.

Me either and we've had the thing at least 12 years. Quite worth our money!