Southern Peach Iced Tea

5 from 4 votes

This Southern Peach Iced Tea is a refreshing home-brewed sweet iced tea made from black tea, infused with peaches and easy mint ice cubes. This bold flavor combo makes for a delicious, fresh and crisp taste. The perfect drink for the sunniest of days regardless of the season!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Drinks

Keyword: drinks, easy, iced tea, mint, peach, southern, summer, sweet tea, vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 105kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

MINT ICE CUBES:

2 cups filtered water
¼ cup Agave syrup or Honey (See Notes!)
handful fresh mint leaves, minced

SWEET TEA:

3 cups water, for boiling
8-10 black tea bags, organic (You can use 6-7 for less black tea strength)
1 gallon filtered water
2 Tbsps freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup organic brown sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 medium peaches, sliced with skin on (See Notes!)
Sliced peaches, for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

TO MAKE THE MINT ICE CUBES:

In a bowl, add the water, sweetener, and minced mint leaves, whisking together until combined. In your favorite ice tray----carefully pour the mint mixture into each cavity, filling them completely full. Repeat until all ice cube cavities are filled. Add the tray(s) to the freezer and freeze for 3-4 hours (or overnight) until ice is formed.

BOIL + STEEP THE TEA:

Add 3 cups of water to a saucepan over high heat and bringing it to a boil. Add the tea bags to the boiling water and peaches and let it continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat, add in the brown sugar and stir until combined and dissolved. Let tea bags continue to steep for 15-20 minutes. NOTE: The longer that the tea bags steep, the stronger the flavor. You can let them steep up to 30 minutes before it begins to get bitter.
Remove the tea bags and let the tea and peach mixture cool completely, about 1 hour or so.

ASSEMBLY:

In a large pitcher, add the gallon of water, steeped tea-peach mixture (discarding of the peach slices), lemon juice, baking soda, and mint ice cubes and refrigerate immediately to keep it cold until ready to serve. NOTE: It's best to have the sweet tea sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so.
Once sweet tea has chilled considerably, serve by pouring the sweet tea into prepared glass(es) and adding a few slices of peaches, if desired.
Sip and enjoy!

Notes

STORAGE: Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator, tightly covered in your pitcher or in a sealed mason jar (for smaller leftover amounts). Best if consumed within a few days.
SWEETENER: Traditionally, sweet tea is made with brown sugar, however, you can always use organic cane sugar, allulose, and stevia, instead of brown sugar.
BAKING SODA: Adding baking soda to your sweet tea prevents it from getting cloudy and bitter. If you've ever tried leaving your leftover sweet tea in the refrigerator for a few days, only to find out that after a day or so, it's bitter and not as enjoyable----then know that adding a small amount of baking soda does the trick!
PEACHES: I like to use freshly sliced peaches, however, if you don't have any---feel free to use 2-3 (15 oz.) cans of sliced peaches.

Nutrition