Sweet iced tea

Iced tea is the drink of the South. It’s everywhere and it’s totally addictive. Typically, the iced tea made in the South is served so sweet that it could liquefy your teeth. You go into a caffeine shock, quickly followed by a diabetic meltdown and once the caffeine starts to wear off, the cravings start. If you find the tea too strong, or too sweet, dilute it with some cold water until it suits your palette.

Credit: Mark Roper

• makes

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 5 Tetley’s All Rounder tea bags
• 4 Twining’s Ceylon Orange Pekoe tea bags
• 2 litres boiling water
• 200 g white sugar
• orange, lemon slices or mint to serve (see Note)
• ice

Instructions

Place the tea bags in a jug and bring fresh water to the boil.  Pour the boiled water over the teabags and let them steep for five minutes only.

Remove the tea bags with a slotted spoon, ensuring to press the tea bags well with the back of the spoon to extract all the goodness.

Stir the sugar into the tea until dissolved and allow to cool.

Refrigerate the tea until cold but do not leave it in the fridge for more than one day.

Notes

• Add a few slices of orange or lemon to your tea once it is cold along with a splash of orange juice (100 ml) or even some lemonade, around 500 ml for a funky tea.

• Finish the jug of tea with a few mint leaves.

• You could also add some rose-scented geranium or hibiscus or chrysanthemum flowers.

Photography by Mark Roper. Styling by Vicki Valsamis. Food preparation by Lance Rosen. 

This recipe was published in Temples of BBQ, by Lance Rosen (templesofbbq.com.au, hbk, $49). Read our review here. 

This is part of our Ultimate BBQ series. For recipes, our guide to American BBQ and tips on smoking, head here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.