MAKE ICED TEA

A relative newcomer in the long history of tea, chilled tea is now hugely popular the world over - and with good reason. On a hot summery day, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, there really is nothing quite like a refreshing pitcher of iced tea. 

Iced tea is easy to make and endlessly adaptable. You can brew it light or strong. You can drink it unsweetened or sweetened. Plus, once you’ve got the basics down, you can start getting more adventurous with your recipes.

THE BASICS

Start by pouring four cups of boiling water over two teabags in a heat-proof pitcher. Then leave it for three to five minutes. Now remove the teabags and sweeten to taste. Next, stir in six cups of ice cubes until melted, or use four cups of cold water. Finally, add some freshly cut lemon slices for some citrus zing and you’re ready to go. Make sure you keep it refrigerated. Now you’ve got the essentials sorted, you can think about jazzing up your recipes. 

FRUIT ICED TEA

Bring a little tropical color to your brew by adding slivers of fresh fruit such as pineapple, peach and kiwi to the iced tea along with half a cup of sugar syrup. Leave the fruit to soak in the tea and a few hours later you’ll have a wonderfully tangy mixture. What’s more, at the end, you can eat the marinated fruit at the bottom of your glass. Seriously yummy. 

For a summer refresher, try this strawberry iced tea recipe: 

1. While your basic iced tea is still hot, pour in 1/6 – 1/3 cup superfine or powdered sugar and stir through. 

2. Add 1/8 – 1/4 cup lemon juice, balancing out the combination of lemon and sugar to taste.

3. Puree a pint of fresh strawberries and sieve them to remove the strawberry seeds. 

4. Once the tea is cool, add the strawberry puree and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

So don’t be afraid to get a little experimental with your pitchers. Try making iced green tea too. Once you’ve got your iced tea base, let the adventure begin!