Peachy Oolong Iced Tea with Peachy Syrup *

I love tea, both hot and iced! It is a nice little treat any time of day and I could happily sip it all day long. In the winter I choose hot tea but once warmer weather rolls around I find it is nice to make iced tea by the gallon and keep it in the fridge, ready to drink whenever. I make a variety of different iced teas but this one is an especially summery treat. The nice thing about making a syrup instead of sweetening the tea is that you can choose just how sweet (or not sweet at all) you want each glass to be.

If you keep some frozen peach slices around dropping them in your tea in place of ice cubes is a nice little touch when you have a guest.


For the tea:
1 gallon water
5 or 6 oolong tea bags, 6 for stronger tea
5 herbal peach tea bags (I use Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion)

If the tea bags have tags remove them. In a large pot bring the water to just a boil and then remove it from heat. Add the oolong and peach tea bags and stir a few times with a slotted spoon to ensure they steep properly and don't cluster together too much. Allow the tea to sit with the teabags in while it cools. Do not remove the tea bags for at least 10 minutes! It is actually best to leave them in until the tea has cooled to room temperature; unlike standard black tea the oolong tea won't become bitter if left in for a long time. Once the tea is cooled to room temperature use the slotted spoon to drain and remove the tea bags. Pour the tea into a pitcher or gallon jug (using a funnel will aid with the latter) and store it in your refrigerator. This makes a bit less than a gallon of tea due to evaporation and the moisture the tea bags take with them when removed.

This syrup won't have as strong a peach flavor as commercial peach syrups, but it also doesn't have artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, or high fructose corn syrup, and you can make it with organic sugar if you like.


For the Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup sliced peaches, fresh or frozen

In a saucepan combine the water and sugar over high heat and stir until somewhat dissolved. Add the peaches and allow to cook until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. Cover the pot and turn the heat off. Allow the peaches to sit in the syrup until cooled to room temperature. Remove the peaches (they will be very sweet but you can save them if you like) and pour the syrup into a container you can seal. If you don't want little bits of peach in your syrup you will want to pour it through a strainer before storing it. Unless you like your tea very sweet this will probably be more than enough syrup for one batch of tea.

NOTE: You can always just sweeten all of the tea, either by stirring syrup into the whole amount or by stirring sugar in before the tea cools if you prefer not to sweeten by the glass.