Bottled iced teas for me are very hit or miss – usually either too sweet or not sweet enough. So, when I want iced tea at home, I tend to make it myself. My first few attempts at a lightly sweetened homebrew always came out with a slightly bitter aftertaste. I didn’t want to add more sugar to mask it, so I went to the web and discovered that this is caused by the tannins in the tea and that a pinch of salt or baking soda can effectively neutralize it. Black tea is my favorite, but this recipe works just as well to make iced green tea too.

INGREDIENTS
8 cups water, divided
4 teabags black tea
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

TOOLS
small (1-quart) pot, with lid
measuring cups and spoons
cooking spoon
2-quart pitcher

METHOD
1. Heat 2 cups water in pot over high heat. Remove from heat when water just begins to simmer.
2. Add teabags and salt (or baking soda), then cover with lid. Let steep 5 minutes.
3. Discard teabags. Add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Pour sweetened tea into pitcher. Add remaining water.
5. Refrigerate until cold.

NOTES & TIPS
• Take care to add the sugar (and baking soda, if using) while the tea is still hot; those ingredients won’t blend with the water as well once the tea has cooled.
• BONUS RECIPE: Half-and-half (AKA Arnold Palmer): Make this recipe, make lemonade, then pour both into a 1-gallon pitcher.

READY IN
15 minutes

YIELD
2 quarts