LEMON ICED TEA

2 large lemons 

1¼ c. sugar 

2 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish 

6 tea bags of black tea

½ c. fresh lemon juice 

Using a vegetable peeler, remove bright yellow peel from lemons. Combine lemon peel and sugar in a medium saucepan with 1 c. water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat and simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint. Cool to room temperature; strain. Steep the tea bags in 4 c. of boiling water, covered, for 5 minutes. Then remove tea bags. Stir in lemon-sugar syrup, lemon juice, 4 c. cold water, and ice cubes. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice and add a few mint leaves.

HOW TO MAKE ICED TEA

Making iced tea is easy, and endlessly adaptable: you can brew it light or strong, drink it unsweetened or sweetened. Once you’ve got the basics down, you can start getting creative; just follow the simple steps below.

The basics

Pour 4 c. of boiling water over two tea bags ...