Peach iced tea

We know that iced tea is synonymous with summer. It’s not often that I find peaches in my market, and the mere sight of these plump beauties had me so excited! For something that doesn’t grow locally, I expected them to be tart and almost inedible, leaving me with the only option of cooking them. I was pleasantly surprised – sweet and zingy with that irresistible peachy flavour in every bite. In the tea, the fruit soaks up a lot of the sugar and gets super juicy. Get your hand into the glass and fish them out..go ahead, no one’s judging.

I always make my own iced teas (lemon and peach flavours) and store in the refrigerator. The lemon is a combination of freshly brewed tea and lemonade, which I found out recently, is also known as an ‘Arnold Palmer‘. The peach variation gets a swig of peach syrup added into it. Spiking it with vodka is another option.. follow your own adventure.

Purely for aesthetic reasons, freeze some mint leaves in ice trays and drop some into your glasses for some extra effect. A fancy shmancy patio drink you can enjoy all through the sunny days!

INGREDIENTS: (Makes about 6 glasses)

4 tea bags

5 cups water

½ cup granulated sugar

Freshly squeezed lime / lemon juice

Fresh peaches (optional)

Peach syrup (I used Monin)

Mint leaves / frozen mint cubes

METHOD:

Steep tea bags in 5 cups of water according to packet instructions. (Do not leave on for longer as they tend to turn bitter). Discard the bags and mix in the sugar and stir until dissolved completely. Set aside to cool.

Add lime juice and peach syrup to the tea, and dilute with cold water and ice cubes according to however strong or weak you’d like your iced tea to be. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To serve, add a few fresh peach slices into your glass and top with ice. Pour your tea in, and garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

Note: Add the fresh peach slices and mint only at the time of serving, as leaving in the tea for longer periods of time might wilt and discolour them.