Homemade Iced Tea

Name: Homemade Iced Tea
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 8 cups water; 8 black tea bags; 1 inch fresh ginger root; 2 bunches fresh mint leaves; ⅛ teaspoon baking soda; Sweetener to equal ½ cup of sugar; Ice cubes; 1 orange

User Reviews

5.0

6 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
10 mins
Total Time
10 mins
Servings
8 servings
Calories
2 kcal
Course
Drinks
Cuisine
American

Homemade Iced Tea

Winston Campbell

Report

This iced tea is so refreshing! I infuse it with ginger, mint, and orange flavors, but even plain and unsweetened, it's delightful.

Share:

I Made This!

Be the first!

Print

4 people printed this

Save this

Be the first!

Ingredients

Servings

8 cups water divided
8 black tea bags
1 inch fresh ginger root peeled
2 bunches fresh mint leaves divided
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
Sweetener to equal ½ cup of sugar optional

To serve:

Ice cubes
1 orange thinly sliced

Add to Shopping List

Instructions

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Turn the heat off and add the tea bags, ginger, and half the mint leaves. Make sure the tea bags are covered in water. Steep the tea for 10 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the tea bags, ginger, and mint leaves from the tea. If needed, strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl.
Stir in the baking soda and, if using, sweetener.
Stir in the remaining 6 cups of cool water. Refrigerate until cold, for about an hour. You can also place the tea in the freezer for 30 minutes.
To serve, transfer the tea to a glass pitcher. Fill drinking glasses with ice cubes and 1 or 2 thin orange slices. Pour in the tea. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.

Notes

If your tap water has a clean taste, it's fine to use it when making this recipe. But if your tap water tastes bad, it's best to use filtered or bottled water.
The baking soda helps keep the tea clear and counteracts any bitterness.
I use kitchen scissors to cut the string off the tea bags. This way, I can fully immerse them in hot water without immersing their tags.
You can use any type of tea you like. I use Earl Grey tea because I enjoy its robust flavor, but you can use plain black tea, green tea, white tea, or even herbal tea.
You can use different sweeteners, including sugar, honey, maple syrup, sugar-free granulated sweeteners, or stevia. You can also use brown sugar if you take care to dissolve it fully while the tea is still hot.
You can keep the tea covered and refrigerated for up to five days. Be sure to refrain from adding fruit directly to the pitcher. Add it to individual glasses right before serving.
The nutrition info assumes no sweetener was used.