Just Peachy

The nights are cooling down some, but the days are still blazingly hot here in New England. I often find myself pouring yet another glass of iced tea. Usually I make Carrie’s iced tea (you can find the recipe on “Life on a Back Road”), with green tea as specified. It’s not my hubby’s favorite, so I usually make a half batch just for me. I’ve played around with that basic formula to make a peach iced tea which is also quite tasty and refreshing. Here’s the recipe (which I’m posting here so I won’t forget what I did):

PEACH ICED TEA

2 ginger peach tea bags (Republic of Tea makes this flavor)*
4 Darjeeling tea bags
6 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tblsp. lemon juice
2 Tblsp. orange juice
1/2 to 1 cup cold water (optional)

Put the tea bags in a large bowl. (I like to use a clear glass bowl with a pouring spout [makes the eventual transfer of tea to pitcher easier] and measurements marked on the side.) For tea bags with strings, I clip them to the side of the bowl with a clothespin. Pour in the boiling water. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing them into the bowl. Discard tea bags. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice. Let stand until lukewarm. Taste tea and add the additional water to taste if necessary. Pour into a pitcher (I use a covered plastic pitcher from the dollar store). Store in the refrigerator and serve over ice. Makes a little less than 2 quarts.

The first time I tried this, I used just regular orange pekoe tea bags from the grocery store. It was pretty deep and dark, but still tasty. The second time, I used Darjeeling, and it was much nicer.

* Any kind of peach tea bags would work.