Peach Iced Tea
Cold-brewed tea, white peach and mint - the drink to make a jug of.
Photo: Peach iced tea with orange slices by Baoothersks · CC BY-SA 4.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 720 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 720 ml line. Iced tea - Cold-brewed if you can - it is smoother and never bitter
- 240 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 240 ml line. Peach purée
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Lemon juice
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Simple syrup - Leave it out if your peaches are ripe ones
- 6 slices Peach (optional)
- 6 sprigs Mint sprig (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake the tea, peach, lemon and syrup with ice and strain over fresh ice.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 1.08 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- For cold-brewed tea, put four tea bags in a litre of cold water and leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Shake the tea, peach purée, lemon juice and syrup with ice for 10 seconds.
- Strain over fresh ice in a highball glass.
- Add a slice of peach and a sprig of mint, and serve it with a long spoon.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Peach Iced Tea
The version of this that comes in a can is one of the sweetest drinks on any shelf, and the version you make at home is not remotely the same thing. Real tea, ripe peaches and a squeeze of lemon, over a great deal of ice, is a genuinely good long drink - and it is the one to make in a jug when there are people coming over, because it scales better than anything else here.
Getting it right
Cold-brew the tea. Hot-brewed tea that has been chilled tastes stewed, and the bitterness in it fights the peach; tea left in cold water overnight is rounder and needs no sugar at all. The purée should be sieved if it came from a blender, or the drink will need chewing. Build it in a jug with the peach slices in it and let it sit for twenty minutes before you serve it - the fruit keeps giving.
Tasting notes
Soft peach and clean tea, with the lemon brightening the finish and the mint cooling it. It is the most summery drink in the book, and the only one that improves in a jug.