Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Pleasures of Homemade Iced Tea

Several weeks ago husband and I had a couple people over for dinner and, on a lark, I decided to make iced tea from scratch. You know - no powdered mix involved. Boy I had forgotten how much better the real stuff is than the instant stuff. Iced tea was a summer staple in our house when I was growing up. I pieced together this recipe mostly from memory. Make it yourself and you'll see what I mean!

Homemade Iced Tea
2 quarts of boiling water
10 tea bags of your favorite black tea
12 ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
Ice


Put the tea bags in a heat-safe pitcher and pour the boiling water over. Let the tea steep until the water is tepid; at LEAST 2 hours (but 3 hours is better). I know this is a long time, but don't skimp on this step or it won't taste right.

When the tea is room temperature, use a slotted spoon to remove the tea bags. Add the frozen lemonade concentrate and stir briskly until all of the lemonade is dissolved into the tea. Add sugar to taste (1/2 cup is what I add), again stirring until the sugar is dissolved. It's ready to serve!

Be sure to put the ice in the glasses when you serve it and NOT to put it directly into the tea. That will dilute it too much. Also, be sure to stir the tea well before serving, everytime you serve it (assuming it lasts more than the first time!).

Enjoy!