Lemon, Mint and Orange Iced Tea
This lemon, mint and orange iced tea deserves to be a summer habit.
A tea that has a unique blend of flavors that tastes wonderful together.
It’s made with black tea, orange and spice tea, Constant Comment tea, fresh mint and lemon.
About Brewing this Tea
After originally posting this recipe brewed as sun tea, I updated it to be cold brewed in the refrigerator.
I did this after learning that when tea is brewed in the sun there may be risk of bacteria growing because the heat from the sun isn’t hot enough to kill bacteria that may be in the container, water or tea leaves.
So now my go-to brewing method is a cold brew in the refrigerator.
I prefer the cold brew method because the tea is already cold when it’s time to serve, and I don’t want to run a risk of bacteria forming in the tea.
Even with refrigerator tea, I like to make just as much as I’m going to use within a day and then if I need more, I clean out the glass container really good and make another fresh batch.
This way, the taste is at its best, and the brewed tea is fresh.
Links to articles that talk about sun tea in more depth that you may like are located at the end of this post…“Is It Safe To Brew And Drink Sun Tea” from TheKitchn.com, and “For The Best Sun Tea, Forget The Sun” from SeriousEats.com
About Serving
If you happen to like your tea on the sweet side, honey works well with the flavors in this tea.
This tea brews overnight in the refrigerator so that its already cold when it’s time to serve.
Serve over ice.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Fresh lemon, fresh mint, black tea bags, orange and spice tea bags, a Constant Comment tea bag and cold water
Also…
…a thoroughly cleaned glass gallon-size container with a lid is needed
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
Water:
Pour the water into a thoroughly cleaned large glass gallon-size container…
…pour the water about 2 inches from the top of the container.
Teabags:
open all of the teabags and…
…put them in the container with the strings laying on the outside edge (of the container).
Fresh Lemon:
Cut 3/4’s of the lemon into slices about 1/2-inch-thick, and reserve 1/4 of the lemon for garnish.
Then quarter each of the lemon slices.
No need to remove the seeds because these lemon pieces will all go into a cheesecloth bag.
Fresh Mint:
Chop 2 of the sprigs of mint in large pieces and reserve the other 2 sprigs for garnish.
Cheesecloth:
Using clean kitchen scissors (for food only) cut the cheesecloth into a piece 15 inches long.
Lay the pieces of lemon and mint in the middle of the cheesecloth.
Pull up the edges of the cheesecloth and gather it tight around the lemons and mint to form a pouch.
Then tie the string around the gathered part to keep the lemon pieces and mint in the pouch.
Add the cheesecloth pouch with lemon and mint to the tea and let the string hang out on the outside of the container.
You may need to push the cheesecloth bag of lemon and mint into the water just a bit to make sure all of the bag is inside of the tea.
Although the tail end of the cheesecloth in the picture above was left uncut, an option is to cut off the tail of the cheese cloth right above where the knot is tied.
This way the cheese cloth won’t hang outside of the container.
Brew in the Refrigerator:
Put the lid on the jug and let it sit the refrigerator overnight for at least 6 hours.
After 6 hours, remove and discard the tea bags and cheesecloth pouch.
It’s best to have a plate handy to put the tea bags and cheesecloth bag on after removing them from the container because they’ll have residual liquid on them.
Serve:
Serve over ice and garnish with lemon and mint.
Store the tea in the refrigerator for not more than a day.
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Lemon, Mint and Orange Iced Tea
Ingredients
For the Tea:
- 6 black tea bags
- 3 orange and spice herb tea bags
- 1 Constant Comment tea bag
- 1 gallon water
- 3/4 of a fresh lemon cut into 1/2 inch thick slices; then cut into quarters
- 2 sprig fresh mint cut into large pieces
For Garnish:
- 1/4 of a fresh lemon sliced
- 2 sprigs fresh mint
Equipment
- Cheesecloth and string
Instructions
For the Tea:
- In a thoroughly cleaned large gallon-size glass container, fill cold water leaving 2 inches of space at the top.
- Open all of the tea bags and put them in the container with the strings hanging on the outside edge (of the container).
- With clean kitchen scissors (used for food only) cut the cheesecloth into a piece about 15 inches long. Put the cut lemons and pieces of mint on the cheesecloth.
- Pull up the edges of the cheesecloth and gather it around the lemons and mint so they are in a pouch; then tie the string around the gathered part to keep the pouch tightly tied. An option is to cut off the tail of the cheese cloth right above where the knot is tied; this way the cheese cloth won’t hang out of the container of tea.
- Put the cheesecloth pouch with the lemon and mint into the jug of tea. Let the string hang out on the outside of the container.
- Put a lid on the container and let the container sit in the refrigerator overnight for at least 6 hours. Then remove and discard the tea bags and the cheesecloth pouch. It's best to have a plate handy to put the tea bags and cheesecloth bag into after removing them from the container because they'll have residual liquid on them.
For Garnish:
- Serve over ice and garnish with lemon and mint. Store in the refrigerator for not more than a day.
Video
Refreshing Drinks
Here are more refreshing drink recipes you may like “Honey Citrus and Thyme Tea“, “Watermelon, Mint and Lemon Infused Green Tea” and “Iced Coffee“.
More Beverage Recipes
More Beverage Recipes You May Like:
Cantaloupe and Coconut Berry Agua Fresca
Apple and Mint Limeade Smoothie
Articles About Sun Tea
Here are articles that talk about sun tea in more depth that you may like “Is It Safe to Brew and Drink Sun Tea” from TheKitchn.com; “For the Best Sun Tea, Forget the Sun” from SeriousEats.com.
I like my iced tea sweet. How much sugar (or simple syrup) should I use and when to add it into the jar?
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, I just did a quick search on how much sugar to use for sweet tea and for 1 gallon (16 cups) of tea it looks like it may be approximately 1 cup of sugar. So if making a simple syrup for this recipe (1 gallon) an option may be to use 1 cup of sugar. If making less than a gallon, it would be 1/2 cup of sugar per 8 cups.
Too late to make this year. Sigh… But I will be prepared for next year! I can’t wait to try this. I love tea. Both hot and cold. My girls love tea too.
This recipe sounds truly amazing!!! We love the addition of our Constant Comment Decaf & Orange & Spice teas. The visual presentation of your recipe is just beautiful, makes you want to drop everything and brew up a gallon!
Kathy for Bigelow Tea
Thank you Kathy!
Looks delicious! I love making iced tea, there are so many different flavor combinations. I love your idea of using cheesecloth! I always end up trying to fish everything out of my tea before serving it.
Thank you Heidi!