Peach Iced Tea
Most peach iced teas lean on bottled syrup that tastes more like candy than fruit. Macerating ripe summer peaches with sugar for an hour draws out their juices and makes a syrup that actually tastes like peaches — floral, sweet-tart, and miles from anything out of a bottle. Brew the tea strong so it stands up to the ice and the syrup. This makes a pitcher big enough for a hot afternoon on the porch.
Drink · Vegetarian, Vegan • 1 hr 20 min
Ingredients
- 4 ripe peaches (about 1½ pounds), pitted and sliced
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 cups water, divided
- 6 black tea bags (such as Lipton or English Breakfast)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from ½ lemon), plus more to taste
- Fresh peach slices and mint sprigs, for garnish
- Ice, for serving
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Steps
- In a medium bowl, toss the sliced peaches with the sugar. Let them sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the peaches have released their juices and the sugar is fully dissolved into a syrup, about 1 hour. For deeper flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Transfer the macerated peaches and all their liquid to a blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until completely smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large liquid measuring cup or bowl, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula to extract every drop of the peach syrup. You should have about 1¼ cups of syrup. Discard the pulp.
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags — do not squeeze them, or the tea will turn bitter.
- Pour the hot tea into a 2-quart pitcher. Stir in the peach syrup and lemon juice until combined. Add the remaining 3 cups of cold water. Stir and taste — add more lemon juice if it needs brightness. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours.
- To serve, fill glasses with ice, pour the chilled peach tea over the ice, and garnish with fresh peach slices and a sprig of mint.
Tips & Variations
Make Ahead
The peach syrup can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. The finished tea keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days — the peach flavor actually melds and improves overnight. Stir before serving, as the syrup may settle.
Storage
Store the prepared iced tea in a covered pitcher in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Do not add ice until serving — it dilutes the tea. Stir before pouring as the peach syrup settles over time.
Substitutions
White or green tea can replace the black tea for a lighter, less tannic version — reduce the steep time to 3 minutes. For a sugar-free version, replace the sugar with ½ cup monk fruit sweetener or your preferred sugar substitute; the syrup will be thinner but the peach flavor will still come through. Frozen peaches work year-round — use 3 cups of thawed frozen peach slices and skip the maceration step, instead simmering them with the sugar and ¼ cup water for 10 minutes before blending. Add a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger sliced into the hot tea steep for a peach-ginger variation.
Reviews
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