Iced Tea Recipe

Steep the tea

Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, add 6 black tea bags (or equivalent loose leaf in an infuser), and steep for 5 minutes for a balanced strength or up to 7 minutes for a stronger brew. Avoid steeping longer than 8 minutes to prevent bitterness.

After steeping, remove the tea bags (or strain out loose tea). Gently press the bags against the side of the pot with a spoon to extract flavorful liquid but avoid squeezing too hard to keep bitterness down.

Make simple syrup

If you want sweetened iced tea, combine 1 cup granulated sugar with 1/4 cup hot water in a heatproof container and stir until the sugar fully dissolves, creating a concentrated syrup. Taste and adjust sweetness by adding more sugar dissolved in small amounts of hot water if desired.

While the tea is still warm (but not boiling), stir in the prepared syrup until fully incorporated. If you prefer unsweetened tea, skip this section.

Transfer the warm tea to a pitcher and add 4 cups cold water to cool and dilute to a balanced strength. Stir to combine.

Refrigerate the pitcher until chilled, at least 1 hour. For quicker cooling, place the pitcher in an ice bath or add a large handful of ice and allow to chill 10–15 minutes, then top up with remaining ice before serving.

To serve, fill glasses with ice cubes, pour chilled tea over the ice, and garnish each glass with a lemon slice and a sprig of fresh mint. Stir gently and taste; adjust sweetness by stirring in additional syrup or a squeeze of lemon if desired.

Leftover iced tea can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 4 days. If sediment appears, gently strain before serving.