Lemon, Mint and Orange Iced Tea
This lemon, mint and orange iced tea deserves to be a summer habit.
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.