Since sharing my basic iced tea base recipe, I’m been experimenting with new flavours the last few days. Sweet tea is a wonderful thing, I love it because the tea stays clear thanks to doing all the sweetening before the tea is brewed. It’s nice to not have to worry about guests having to sweeten their tea after you pour it for them, so I try to make sweet teas when I know everyone’s sugar preference. Here’s the latest sweet tea recipe I’ve been messing with!
Before you do anything, you have to prepare a simple sugar syrup to sweeten your tea with. Add a cup of water and a cup of sugar (white or brown, doesn’t really matter to me) and let simmer over medium heat. Stir until everything dissolves, and then let it cool. You can strain this syrup through a sieve if you want to, but I just use it straight once it’s cooled.
Boil water in a kettle or saucepan (again, for every liter of water, use around 3 teabags), and then add as much syrup as you’d like. A little goes a long way here! Once you’ve added the syrup, add in your tea bags and whatever additions you’d like. I’ve been really into adding lavender and cinnamon lately, so I pop around 2 tablespoons of lavender to an infuser and pop a stick of cinnamon into the tea when it’s off the heat. Once everything is cool, pour your tea into a pitcher and refrigerate.
I’ve experimented with leaving the lavender and cinnamon in for a while, but I think leaving them in for a few hours is best to get the most flavour. Another really great combination is orange zest and vanilla bean, or lemon and mint. The sky’s the limit when it comes to sweet tea, and as long as you have the base recipe down then you’ll be fine!
