Lemon Sweet Tea
User Reviews
5
Lemon Sweet Tea
Description
This Lemon Sweet Tea recipe starts by making a lemon simple syrup that infuses sugar and water with lemon peels, extracting bright citrus oils and flavor. Separately, black tea bags steep in hot water to form a robust tea concentrate, with baking soda added to mellow bitterness.
The sweet syrup is strained and combined with the tea concentrate and additional water to reach the desired strength and sweetness level. Garnishing with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs offers aromatic accents and visual appeal.
The tea's flavor is smooth and balanced, neither too sweet nor bitter, with a refreshing lemon tang. This beverage can be made in large batches for gatherings, offering a traditional Southern-style sweet tea with a citrus twist.
The recipe yields about one gallon or sixteen 8-ounce servings. Adjust sweetness by adding more or less simple syrup to suit personal preference. The baking soda is optional but helps prevent bitterness from the brewed tea.
Ingredients
Lemon simple syrup
- 2 lemon plural
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
Tea concentrate
- 12 regular size tea Luzianne is our favorite brand, but any brand will work, in bags
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
To serve
- 10 cups water
- lemon slices
- rosemary sprig
Instructions
Make the simple syrup
- Use a paring knife to slice the peel off of the lemons, then set aside for a minute.
- To a small saucepan, add 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over MED heat. Once boiling, add lemon peels and boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is clear (aside from the lemon peels).
- Set simple syrup aside to cool.
Make the tea concentrate
- Tie tea bags together at the top (by the tags). This makes it a lot easier to remove all the tea bags at once.
- In another larger saucepan, add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and let sit for a minute or so.
- Add tea bags and let steep for 5-6 minutes. Remove tea bags, but don't squeeze the tea bags (this could make the tea bitter).
- Transfer hot tea mixture to a large gallon-sized pitcher, or several smaller pitchers.
Put it all together
- Place a strainer over the pitcher and pour in the cooled simple syrup through a strainer to remove the lemon peels.
- Add baking soda and 10 cups of cold water, stirring well to combine.
- Cover pitcher and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until cold.
Serve
- Serve over ice, garnished with a lemon wedge/slice and a sprig of rosemary if desired.
Notes
- This recipe makes about 1 gallon, equating to sixteen 8-ounce servings.
- You can halve the recipe if a smaller quantity is desired.
- Baking soda helps neutralize tea bitterness but can be omitted if preferred, though the tea might taste slightly bitter.
- Adjust sweetness by varying the amount of lemon simple syrup according to taste.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 16servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 100 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 100kcal | 5% |
| Carbohydrates | 26g | 9% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 1g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 31mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 19mg | 0% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 25g | 50% |
| Vitamin A | 3IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 7mg | 8% |
| Calcium | 12mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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