Iced Tea Recipe

Boil water and steep

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or saucepan. Once boiling, remove from heat and add 6 black tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes for a standard strength or up to 8 minutes for stronger flavor. Avoid steeping longer than 8 minutes to prevent excessive bitterness.

After steeping, remove and discard the tea bags, gently pressing each against the side of the pot with a spoon to extract extra brewed tea without squeezing too hard (which releases bitter tannins).

Make sugar syrup (if using granulated sugar)

In a heatproof measuring cup or small saucepan, combine 1 cup granulated sugar with 1 cup hot water and stir until sugar is fully dissolved to create simple syrup. Let cool slightly.

If you prefer plain granulated sugar instead of pre-made syrup, stir the hot simple syrup into the warm brewed tea until combined. Alternatively, add 1/2 cup simple syrup directly to the brewed tea and taste; add more to reach desired sweetness.

Roll the 2 fresh lemons on the countertop with your palm to loosen juices. Cut lemons in half and juice them until you have about 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice (approximately from 2 lemons). Strain seeds. Stir the lemon juice into the sweetened warm tea. Taste and adjust: add more syrup or lemon as preferred.

Allow the sweetened lemon tea to come to room temperature (about 20–30 minutes). Transfer the tea to a pitcher and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until well chilled. For faster cooling, place the covered pitcher in an ice bath or add a handful of ice cubes, then top up later to avoid dilution.

Fill glasses with about 1/2 cup ice (adjust to preference). Pour chilled tea over ice. Garnish each glass with a lemon slice and a mint leaf if using. Stir and serve immediately. Sweetness can be adjusted at the table with additional simple syrup to taste.