Basic Iced Tea Recipe
By
Nick Mautone
Email
Tea comes in two basic varieties: black and green—green has a more delicate flavor. Actually, all tea starts out green; black tea is simply green tea that’s gone through various stages of processing and fermentation, explains author and former Gramercy Tavern managing partner Nick Mautone. For iced tea, use approximately 1 tablespoon of tea per 5 to 6 ounces of hot water and let it steep for up to 10 minutes. Drinking it cold reduces the tannin pucker, and ice will dilute it.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 tea bags of any good-quality black tea
- 1 medium lemon or orange
- 8 cups simmering water
- Ice
- Rich Simple Syrup (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the tea bags in a large heatproof glass pitcher. Use a vegetable peeler to strip the peel from the lemon or orange, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible, and add the peel to the pitcher.
- Pour the simmering water into the pitcher and let it steep for at least 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Refrigerate the tea until cool.
- To serve, fill iced tea glasses with ice and pour the tea over the ice. Sweeten with simple syrup, if desired.
I've heard that keeping the tea at room temperature before refrigerating keeps the tea clear - as opposed to cloudy. Anyone else know? Thanks!
does anyone have a recipe for iced tea using loose tea?
deco.rate -
You add the zest of the lemon to the tea, not the peeled lemon.
Christine Gallary, CHOW Test Kitchen
I'm confused. Do you add the zest of the lemon, or the peeled lemon itself?
Thank you for posting a basic ice tea recipe. I've never been able to get the mix right but this recipe is perfect. All of my previous internet searches brought up fancy versions of ice tea. I still think simple is best. Thanks again.
Yeah, Sorry but I'm an Iced tea purist no lemon sugar just tea. Name brand wise Rose's makes the best tea for brewing your own