I want to make ready-to-drink ice tea that can be marketed in gallon
jugs, and will have stable shelf life. I went to a few retailers, and
see that the RTDs on shelf have on average between 60 to 90 days to
expiration date. The most simple ingredient list has citric acid or
asorbic acid as the preservative.

Through trial-and-error I have figured out the perfect recepie for my
ice tea. I want to use citric acid as my preservative of choice. I
bought a few pounds of it. However, I can't figure out what ratio to
use for mixing the citric acid with the rest of the stuff.

I don't want volume % i.e. 2% of the brewed gallon. For example: 2% of
128-ounces (one gallon) would be 2.56-ounces i.e. 72.70-grams. I am
brewing 70-grams of my blend to make 3-gallons. Therefore, this way it
does not make sense!

I want a weight % of citric acid that I can add to the rest of the dry
tea blend. For example, 2% of the dry weight of the blend - this would
mean 2-grams for every 100-grams of the blend. Now this makes sense.

After reading on this for some time I understand that the citric acid
adds a tangyness to the ice tea. I can re-design my blend to
accomodate for this. However, what I am looking for is a 60 - 90 days
shelf life for my ice tea. So, if you can tell me that x% of citric
acid gives y-days shelf life; I will use the x% (minimum) and anything
beyond will be for enhancing the flavor profile.

Thank you for your help.

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 24 Sep 2006 19:32 PDT

curious2know...

Have you already ascertained that adding the citric acid prior
to brewing won't alter the preservative properties due to the
heat generated by brewing temperatures?

It occurs to me that, in commercial production, the citric
acid may be added after the tea has cooled, in order to
preclude this.

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by curious2know-ga on 24 Sep 2006 20:24 PDT

Actually, no I have not found ANYTHING through my search that deals
with how to add the citric acid to my brew (before/after). Sorry
couldn't clarify further!

Have you considered that your product does not need any preservatives
in it? If your brewing process involves a high temperature for long
period of time you could have a sterile liquid as your final product.
All you would have to do is heat process your product in a jar like
you would a jar of pickles and it will have a one year shelf life.