This tea, as is, is not too sweet, and definitely has a pronounced peach flavor; it’s like Snapple Peach Iced Tea, only better!  Make the big-batch peach base to keep in the freezer and you’ll be able to whip up a quart of Peach Iced Tea on a moments notice. Or make a gallon or two for a  summer party in a flash.  I would love to go to a summer party where there’s something to drink other than bottles of beer, soda and water. Try my Blueberry Lemonade, too, which is also very good!

The peach part of the tea was inspired by a recipe I found in a “Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication” entitled “Best Loved Reader Recipes; 125 Winners from 1930 to Today“.  The recipe in the magazine was for a “Sparkling Peach Punch“, where the base below is mixed with ginger ale or sparkling water.  I tried both versions. The ginger ale version was very sweet, the sparkling water version was given a thumbs up by my daughters, but the iced tea version created by yours truly was the star of the show 🙂

THREE NOTES:

• Make the base and freeze it in three 1-quart batches or six 2-cup batches.  Each 1-quart peach base will mix with 2 quarts of strong tea to make 12 cups/3 quarts of Peach Iced Tea—add ice and you have a party! Each 2-cup peach base mixed with 6 cups of strong tea will make 8 cups/2 quarts of Peach Iced Tea, add ice and a friend and you have a cool and tasty summer drink with which you and  your friend can enjoy a little down time.
• Make the tea twice as strong as you would for regular hot tea! I prefer English or Irish tea bags such as Barry’s Irish Gold, or Yorkshire Gold, Bewley’s or PG tips. Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast tea is also very good—though, oddly, the English Breakfast tea isn’t very good at all! I use 3 or 4 tea bags to each quart of boiling water.  If I had to use Lipton or Red Rose Tea, I’d use at least six tea bags to a quart of boiling water.  I haven’t experimented with green tea, as I am not a big fan, but I am sure green tea could substitute for the black tea, and of course, decaf tea could be used, if that is your preference.
• I don’t know why there is gelatin in the base, that’s one of the things I am going to experiment with and try to remove, but I think it probably does add to the overall peachiness of the drink. Yes, yes, yes, one of the first things I will experiment with is using fresh peaches in place of the canned peaches…but until that happens, make this version, it’s yummy!

Peach Iced Tea

INGREDIENTS

For the Peach Base:

• 3 cups water
• 1½ cups sugar
• 13-ounce package peach-flavored gelatin
• 1 29-ounce can peach slices in light syrup
• 4 11-ounce cans peach nectar—find them at the grocery store near the bottled juices
• ½ cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine water, sugar, and gelatin in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve the gelatin then remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Place undrained peach slices in blender, and blend until smooth.
3. In a 1 gallon capacity bowl, pan or pitcher combine gelatin mixture, pureed peaches, peach nectar, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
4. Divide peach mixture into three 1-quart batches or six 2-cup batches.  Use now (see below), or freeze until needed.  According to the original recipe, the base can be frozen for up to 3 months.

To Brew the Tea and Combine With the Peach Flavor:

• Use the desired quantity of peach base needed—remove from freezer an hour or two beforehand
• Tea bags—make the tea twice as strong as you would for regular hot tea, see note above
• Boiling water—you will need to make 2X the amount of water for the quantity of base you are using, see note above

1. Pour the required amount of boiling water over the tea bags and let steep for 3-5 minutes.  Don’t let the tea steep for more than 5 minutes or it will start to get bitter.
2. Fill a pitcher half full of ice. Pour the hot brewed tea over the ice. Discard the tea bags.
3. Stir the peach base into the iced tea.
4. Pour into glass and enjoy! A-a-a-a-ah 🙂

It’s mercilessly HOT here, and I hate hot, but a glass of Peach Iced Tea, a day off, and a good book does make the summer somewhat enjoyable 🙂