Lemon Iced Tea
Homemade iced tea often turns cloudy, and that is chemistry rather than carelessness: when strong hot tea cools slowly, tannins and caffeine bind into a fine haze. The cure is speed — half the water is replaced with ice, and the hot brew is poured straight onto it.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Rest
- 2 h
- Total
- 2 h 15 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 60 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: about 1.5 l, 6 glasses
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Method
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Step 1: Brew it stronger than usual
Pour 750 ml of hot water over the tea and steep 4 minutes. The brew should be twice as strong as you would drink hot — the ice halves it exactly.
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Step 2: Sweeten while hot
Strain and stir the sugar in at once. In cold tea it dissolves badly and settles at the bottom of the jug.
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Step 3: Pour it over ice
Fill a jug with ice and pour the hot tea straight onto it. Shock chilling is the only way to keep it clear.
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Step 4: Lemon goes in cold
Add the juice and slices once the tea is cold. In hot tea the zest turns bitter and the colour goes dull.
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Step 5: Chill before serving
Half an hour in the fridge lets the flavours settle. Serve over fresh ice with a sprig of mint.
Tips & variations
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Tip
If it clouds anyway, nothing is spoiled but the look. A spoonful of boiling water stirred into the jug usually clears it.
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Tip
Do not steep beyond 5 minutes: after that the leaf gives tannin, and cold tea turns astringent on the tongue.
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Variation
Cold brew: 4 tsp of tea in 1.5 l of cold water, 8 hours in the fridge. Softer, and it never clouds at all.
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Storage
Two days in the fridge. Lift the lemon slices out after a few hours — the zest keeps giving up bitterness.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 60 kcal | 360 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g | 90 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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