It rained yesterday morning, and they say it’s going to rain again on Saturday, but today dawned sunny and bright, and that was excuse enough for me to brew a batch of iced tea. We drink a lot of iced tea around here between April and September. Pitchers and pitchers of it.

Black tea with honey. Rooibos tea with sugar, and Green tea. Always sweetened while the tea is hot.

Sometimes accompanied by fat lemon wedges, sometimes not. Frequently spiked with fresh green herbs like or lemon thyme or mint to add an extra dimension of flavor.

Occasionally enjoyed with dinner, but more frequently sipped slowly in the mid-afternoon or early evening, while sitting outside on the deck listening to the squabbling of the birds and the rasp of crickets.

here’s one for Snapple-type iced
tea. Not surprisingly, it’s a lot of sugar but you can always cut that
back.

2 quarts (8 cups) boiling water, removed from heat
3 tea bags
3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Bring the water to a boil, add tea bags, take off the heat and Steep tea bags in a covered container for 1 hour.
2. Remove tea bags. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Chill.