Sweet Iced Tea

Iced tea is one of the simplest and most delicious drinks you can make, at any time during the year. It's tasty and thirst-quenching and mixes well with liquor (if you feel so inclined). When we make it, we'll fill several jars in one go so that we have it on hand for the next week. Yes, it only seems to last a short while before you have to make more. But really, don't you have 5 minutes to spare?

The three smaller jars are our 1L mason jars, the extra large one is 2L and fits two pots of tea

Ingredients

1 L of water
1 1/2 tsp tea leaves or 3 tea bags
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preparation

Brew the tea as you normally would. I usually brew teas for 3 minutes maximum (unless it's herbal, in which case leave it as long as you like) and usually a little less if the tea is prone to bitter, such as white and green teas. Use fairly hot water for black tea, herbal, mate and rooibos, around 98° C. If you have a thermometer, you can use it now, but if not, just wait a minute after the kettle boils before pouring the tea in. For green and white tea, wait several minutes, until the water cools to around 74° C, and perhaps brew it for a little less than 3 minutes. About 1 L of water fits in a large, 3 cup teapot, which in turn fits in a large mason jar, the kind that pasta sauce often comes in.

Pour the brewed tea into the jar you will be storing it in, then add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice. These measurements make a sweet-but-not-too-sweet iced tea, with a pleasant acidity. You can adjust the proportions to your taste.

Stir your concoction with a chopstick or other stirring utensil, then let it cool a bit.

Refrigerate until cool, which will take several hours. If you're in a rush, fill your glass with ice, then slowly pour the tea over it.

Drink up!