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4.65 from 45 votes

Fresh Lemon Iced Tea

Sweet, brisk lemon iced tea that’s super refreshing and easy to make.
Prep Time5 minutes
Steep Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Jee Choe

Ingredients

  • 5 cups ice + more for serving
  • 4 cups water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 5 black tea sachets
  • Juice from 3 lemons + lemon slices for garnish

Instructions

  • Juice 3 lemons.
    Use a citrus juicer to make juicing the lemons easier. Make sure to strain out the pulp and seeds. Set aside.
  • Bring 4 cups of water to a simmer and turn off heat.
    I use my electric kettle and set the water temperature to 180°F. Use filtered water if possible for the best tasting iced tea.
  • Put tea sachets into pitcher and add hot water.
  • Steep for 5 minutes then discard tea sachets.
  • Stir sugar into the hot tea until completely dissolved.
  • Add ice to pitcher and close with leakproof lid. Shake for 15 seconds.
    If you're using a leakproof pitcher, close the lid and turn the entire pitcher upside down then right side up 15 times.
  • Add lemon juice and shake.
    After pouring in the lemon juice, close the lid again and shake to fully incorporate the lemon juice with the iced tea.
  • Pour tea into cups with ice lined with lemon slices.
    Line the inside of the cups with 3 thin lemon slices then add the ice before pouring in the iced tea.

Notes

  • Use a 2 quart pitcher with a leakproof lid so you can shake the ice and hot tea together. If you don't have a leakproof lid, you can just stir the ice.
  • Make sure you're using a pitcher that can handle drastic temperature changes.

Nutrition

Calories: 24 | Carbohydrates: 6g | Sodium: 13mg | Sugar: 6g | Calcium: 8mg