Iced tea has always been one of my favorite summer drinks of all times, and nothing combines better with the chilled black tea than the beautiful citrus flavors of the Summer season. Orange Iced-tea is so immensely refreshing! A glassful of this amazing beverage is just what you need to beat the summer vibes away. It is super easy to make and looks beautiful to serve too!
In a large saucepan, bring half of your water to a boil.
Add the tea-bags, stir and gently boil for around a minute.
Remove from heat. Cover and steep for 5 minutes.
Strain with a sieve and cool this black tea to room temperature.
Combine the black tea with the rest of the water in a large pitcher and keep in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hours.
Take another sauce-pan and bring your fresh orange juice and sugar to a simmer. Continue boiling gently for 4-5 minutes till sugar dissolves and syrup thickens slightly.
Remove from heat and bring to room temperature. Store the orange syrup in a glass jar and keep to chill in the refrigerator, along with your tea.
To serve your cold iced tea, fill 1/3rd of the pitcher with ice cubes. Add chilled black tea, orange syrup, orange slices and lots of crushed mint leaves. Stir and enjoy!
Notes
Adjust the quantity of tea to be used according to your personal preferance.
You can substitute the orange with lemon or lime!
Instead of mint leaves, you can also use fragrant Rosemary or Basil herbs to add different aromas to your Iced-teas.
If the resulting Iced-tea seems to strong for your taste, just add chilled water to it to dilute the flavor of the tea.