Fresh Peach Iced Tea
A slow-steeped peach syrup stirred into cold-brewed black tea — no artificial peach flavor, just real fruit simmered down until it's ready to give up all its sweetness. Best made a day ahead and served over plenty of ice.
Method
Brew the tea
Bring 8 cups of water to the boil, then add the black tea bags and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the bags and set the tea aside to cool completely while you make the peach syrup.
Start the peach syrup
Combine the diced peaches, sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil over medium heat, and boil for 10 minutes.
Simmer and break down the peaches
Uncover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Then mash the peaches against the side of the pan with a spoon until mushy, releasing their juice into the syrup.
Rest, then strain
Turn off the heat and let the syrup rest for 15 minutes so the peach flavor fully infuses. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, pressing gently to extract as much syrup as possible — save the softened peaches for jam or another use.
Combine and chill
Stir the peach syrup into the cooled black tea. Let it cool to room temperature, then transfer to the fridge until fully chilled.
Serve
Pour over a glass full of ice and garnish with fresh peach slices.