Georgia Peach Sweet Tea

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Chill Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 176kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Southern sweet tea sweetened with homemade spiced peach syrup

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Equipment

1 cutting board
1 knife
1 small saucepan
1 kitchen spoon
1 pitcher or beverage dispenser

Ingredients

For the Peach Syrup

2 peaches
1 vanilla bean or one teaspoon vanilla extract
½ inch fresh ginger or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick or one teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ cup brown sugar or cane sugar
1 cup water

For the Tea

8 cups water
8 black tea bags preferably Lipton or Luzianne orange pekoe black tea
ice
fresh mint optional garnish
peach slices optional garnish

Instructions

To Make the Syrup

Pit and cut peaches into chunks (no need to peel them) and discard the pits. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and pull it open to expose its seeds. Slice ginger into coins.
Add peaches, vanilla bean, ginger, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, sugar, and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Bring syrup to a boil then remove from heat and mash/muddle the peaches to express as much of their juices as possible.
Allow the syrup to fully cool then strain out the solid ingredients. While the syrup cools, make the tea.

To Make the Tea

Bring water to a boil then remove from heat and add tea bags, gently pushing them down into the water so that they are soaked.
Steep tea for five minutes then remove them from the pot. Do not squeeze the tea bags just lift them out to of the liquid and let them drip. This avoids adding too many bitter tannins to the tea.
Add the strained syrup and tea to a pitcher and stir to combine then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve over ice.

Notes

Preparation

Don’t toss out the cooked peaches from the syrup! They make a great compote or can be added for sweetness and flavor to oatmeal, smoothies, and more.

You can make this tea up to three days ahead of time, if stored correctly. Don't add any ice or garnishes until ready to serve.

Variations

You can replace the brown sugar or cane sugar with other granulated or liquid sweeteners in a 1:1 ratio with the exception of powdered or confectioner's sugar, which will make the syrup cloudy.

Troubleshooting

Why is my sweet tea bitter? Bitterness comes from too much of the tea's tannins being released while brewing. This can happen if you steep tea in actively boiling water (which is too hot), steep it for too long (no more than five minutes) or squeeze the teabags into the tea while removing them. Avoid these mistakes to prevent your tea from being bitter in the future. And to fix a batch of bitter tea in the present, add a sprinkle of baking soda or lemon juice to combat the tannin taste. Then add more sugar to taste to rebalance the tea.

Serving

Serve over ice with the garnishes of your choosing. I recommend peaches, mint, and lemon slices. And frozen peaches are a great way to add chill without diluting the flavor!

Storage

Peach sweet tea should be refrigerated in an airtight container, if possible, and it will keep for up to five days this way.

To freeze, I recommend pouring the tea into ice cube molds for easy storage and quicker thawing. Frozen sweet peach tea will keep for up to three months in the freezer.

Nutrition