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Ingredients
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Iced Tea Base
Garnish (optional)
Method
Iced Tea Base
- 1
- 2
Steep the tea
Place 6 black tea bags into a heatproof pitcher. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags, fully submerging them. Cover the pitcher and let the tea steep for 5 minutes for a standard strength, or 7 minutes for stronger flavor. Avoid steeping more than 8 minutes to prevent excessive bitterness.
- 3
Sweeten while hot
While the tea is still hot, remove the tea bags (gently squeezing against the side of the pitcher with a spoon to extract liquid if desired). Add 4 tablespoons granulated sugar to the hot tea and stir until completely dissolved. Taste and add up to 1–2 extra tablespoons if you prefer sweeter tea.
- 4
Dilute and cool
Stir in 1.0 l of cold water to the sweetened tea to both dilute to serving strength and cool it down. If you prefer a stronger concentrate for later dilution, omit some of the cold water and add when serving.
- 5
Add lemon (optional)
If using, stir in 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice now for a bright citrus note. Adjust to taste.
- 6
Chill
Let the tea cool to room temperature, then refrigerate uncovered until well chilled, about 45–60 minutes. For faster chilling, transfer to an ice-filled pitcher and stir briefly, or place the pitcher in an ice bath.
- 7
Serve over ice
Fill individual glasses with ice (about 3/4 full). Pour chilled tea over the ice, leaving a little space at the top for garnish.
