Thursday, June 2, 2011

Perfect Iced Tea

June is Iced Tea Month. This recipe is a combination of Grandma Hickman’s method of making delicious iced tea and my mom’s little touch of clove. I tweaked the procedure a bit. You know how you're supposed to add tea bags to the cold water and heat until water barely comes to a boil? Well, there's been a time or two when I let it come to a full boil which resulted in a bitter tea. I had an epiphany and came up with this recipe. 

Bring a small saucepan 2 - 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and quickly add 5 teabags. Let steep for about 10 minutes, then add ¾ to 1 cup of sugar. Optional: sprinkle ground clove. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Continue to steep until pan is cool.

Remove teabags. Pour into a 2 quart pitcher, fill with water and ice to the top.