Iced Tea Recipe

Inspired by Cafe Passe

Time1h 30m

Serves6

Make Iced Tea Recipe in just 1h 30m. Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.

Was this page helpful?

Help improve this recipe for others.

Send this recipe to your inbox.

We'll email it straight to you - plus weekly cooking inspiration.

Ingredients

Some product links may be affiliates. If you buy through them, you're supporting the site and Pekin may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

1
Boil water
Bring 1 L water to a rolling boil in a kettle or saucepan.
2
Steep tea
Place 4 black tea bags in a heatproof pitcher. Pour the boiling 1 L water over the tea bags. Cover or loosely place a lid on the pitcher and let the tea steep for 5 minutes for a standard-strength iced tea or up to 7 minutes for a stronger brew. Avoid steeping longer than 8 minutes to prevent excessive bitterness.
3
Remove tea bags
After steeping, remove and discard the tea bags. Press them gently against the side of the pitcher with a spoon to extract remaining liquid if desired, but avoid squeezing too hard to reduce bitterness.
4
Top up
Add 500 ml of boiling water to the pitcher to slightly cool and top up the concentrate, yielding about 1.5 L of brewed tea. Stir gently to combine.
5
Cool to room temperature
Let the brewed tea cool on the counter for 15–20 minutes until it reaches near room temperature before refrigerating (this prevents diluting with melting ice later).

6
Make simple syrup
If you want sweetened iced tea, stir 4 tablespoons granulated sugar into 60 ml hot water in a heatproof cup to dissolve completely, creating a quick simple syrup. Adjust sweetness to taste (add more sugar for sweeter tea). Allow syrup to cool slightly.
7
Add to tea
When the brewed tea has cooled to warm/room temperature, stir in the prepared simple syrup until fully incorporated. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.

8
Prepare lemon
Slice the lemon into thin rounds or wedges. Reserve a few slices for garnish and squeeze juice from one or two slices into the pitcher if you like a touch of citrus (about 1–2 tablespoons). Stir to distribute.
9
Chill
Cover the pitcher and refrigerate the tea for at least 1 hour, or until well chilled.
10
Serve
Fill glasses with ice cubes (about 1/2 cup ice per 8 oz glass). Pour chilled tea over the ice, add a lemon slice and a sprig of mint to each glass as garnish. Serve immediately.