Best Peach Iced Tea Recipe

A simple southern peach iced tea recipe that’s not too sweet and perfectly peachy. Easy to make and very refreshing on hot summer days.

Peach iced tea is the quintessential taste of summer. There’s no better way to drink tea in the summertime than iced. Unless you add a fruit flavor to it – then you have the ultimate iced tea beverage. If life is better with tea, summer is better with iced tea.

My family drinks iced tea by the gallon all year round, usually sweetened. But in the summertime when I start adding fruits to the iced tea, I tend to back down on the sugar a little bit. But I don’t tell them that!

I like to use fruits in season for a more robust flavor. The trick is to wait until they are very ripe. That’s when they are sweet, juicy and flavorful.

For a basic guide to which fruits are in season see the chart below. This is for the northeastern United States.

Northeast Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

• • Apples- July through October (cold storage until spring)
  • Blueberries- July and August
  • Cantaloupes – August and September
  • Cherries – July
  • Cranberries – October through December
  • Melons – July through October
  • Nectarines – August and September
  • Peaches – July through September
  • Strawberries – June
  • Raspberries- July through September
  • Plums – August and September
  • Strawberries – June
  • Watermelons – August through October

Which Fruits Are In Season Near You?

It’s a fairly quick internet search to find the fruits in season in your area. As a general guide, all your berries come into season during the hot summer months and melons in late summer.

Seasonal fruits are allowed to ripen naturally under the sun making them healthier for you and less expensive. These tools will help you find which fruits are grown where you live:

• • The United States — This is an awesome online seasonal food guide to search by state and time of year to see what produce is in season.
  • Canada — This online guide shows you when fruits and vegetables in season.
  • Australia — This online seasonal food guide shows you which fruits are in season by region with a listing of farmers’ markets.
  • The United Kingdom — This online resource tells you what foods are in season each month.

A Little About Peaches

The early part of the season produces Clingstone Peaches. Then the Semi-Freestone peaches are ready to be harvested. Finally, the Freestone peaches are collected.

Basically, Freestone refers to a peach that has a stone (pit) that can easily be removed from the flesh. The flesh is not attached to the stone and doesn’t need to be cut to free the stone. Freestone varieties are preferred when removal of the stone is done by hand.

Clingstone refers to a peach that has a stone (pit) that cannot be easily removed from the flesh. The flesh is attached strongly to the stone and must be cut to free the stone.

Clingstone varieties tend to be more tender and juicy throughout. Sometimes they are preferred for jams and general eating.

Related: 10 Best Online Tea Shops

Peach Iced Tea Recipe

This peach iced tea recipe is pretty basic. In addition to brewing your favorite black tea, all you need to do is add pureed peaches to the brew.

You might be tempted to use a low-quality supermarket tea, but don’t do it. You will be disappointed with the results. Even though fruit is added, you still taste the tea.

I like to use a Nilgiri black tea blend. Nilgiri teas yield bright and brisk liquors. A light and smooth blend is perfect for iced tea, which is what is intended. Nilgiri teas tend to be very forgiving – they do not turn bitter when over-brewed.

The art of the brew is learning how to balance these flavors just right. The fruit flavor should not overpower the tea flavor.

Pro Tips:

• • Use fruits in season. They are usually tastier, fresher and more nutritious.
  • Don’t use poor quality tea. Always use the freshest and best quality tea you can afford.
  • Add lemon juice.

Adding lemon juice is another little trick I like to use. You don’t need much, just a little lemon juice will do.

Why lemon juice? If the peach flavor is a little too mellow, the lemon juice will make that flavor just a little bit brighter. Lemon juice is an underlying flavor, making your other flavors the star. For a sweeter orangey-lemon flavor, you can use Meyer Lemons.

This recipe is super simple. Follow these tips for a top-notch gourmet Peach Iced Tea:

• • Use high-quality loose leaf tea. Use a Nilgiri tea making a really nice iced tea as it lends itself to flavoring very well;
  • If using the Nilgiri tea you can brew it for 10 minutes. When making iced tea, use more tea leaves than you would for hot tea.
  • A splash of lemon juice gives the flavor a real edge. It truly makes all the difference.
  • Use a fine mesh chinois to strain the peach juice. You will achieve better clarity in your peach iced tea.
  • Yields: 1 pound of peaches is about 4-6 peaches or about 2 1/2 cups sliced.

4 from 2 votes

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Best Peach Iced Tea

A simple southern peach iced tea that's not too sweet and perfectly peachy. Easy to make and very refreshing on hot summer days.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword Peach Iced Tea

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 96 kcal

Author Mary Ann Rollano

Ingredients

• 1 pound peaches
• 7 cups water
• 8 heaping tsp. Nigiri black tea (17 - 18 grams)
• 3/4 cups pure cane sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. 1 pound ripe peaches, pitted, skinned and cut into wedges.
2. Put all peaches in a blender. Add 1 cup of water. Blend together until smooth.
3. Bring the remaining 6 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat.
4. Add tea leaves and steep for 10 minutes if using Nilgiri black tea.
5. Remove tea leaves.
6. Add the sugar to the tea while it's hot to dissolve.

7. Strain peach juice and add. You can use a fine strainer.

8. Add the lemon juice.
9. Stir all together and pour through a fine mesh strainer.

10. Garnish with lemon, peach, and basil. Serve chilled over ice and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips:

• Use fruits in season. They are usually tastier, fresher and more nutritious.
• Don't use a poor quality tea. Always use the freshest and best quality tea you can afford.
• Add lemon juice.
• Use a high-quality loose leaf tea. Use a Nilgiri tea making a really nice iced tea as it lends itself to flavoring very well;
• If using the Nilgiri tea you can brew it for 10 minutes. When making iced tea, use more tea leaves than you would for hot tea.
• A splash of lemon juice gives the flavor a real edge. It truly makes all the difference.
• Use a fine mesh chinois to strain the peach juice. You will achieve better clarity in your peach iced tea.
• Yields: 1 pound of peaches is about 4-6 peaches or about 2 1/2 cups sliced.

Nutrition Facts

Best Peach Iced Tea

Amount Per Serving (8 ounces)

Calories 96 Calories from Fat 2

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.2g0%

Sodium 8.7mg0%

Potassium 140mg4%

Carbohydrates 24.7g8%

Fiber 0.9g4%

Sugar 23.7g26%

Protein 0.5g1%

Vitamin A 50IU1%

Vitamin C 9.1mg11%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 0.2mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Peaches are high in vitamin C, potassium and flavonoids. Peaches are also a good source of fiber. They contain beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.

Vitamin C helps to form collagen, important for healthy skin and fights free radicals. Peaches are also high in beta-carotene, which is associated with cell repair.

How much potassium do peaches contain? One peach has approximately 333 mg or 10% of the recommended daily allowance. Potassium is a micronutrient and is critical to the fluid and electrolyte balance in the body.

Potassium is necessary for the function of the heart and nervous system. Potassium deficiency has been linked to chronic fatigue and high blood pressure.

Flavonoids have antioxidant effects. Antioxidants are known to help keep blood pressure down, combat inflammation, fight cancer and prevent heart disease.

For more information about the health benefits of peaches, read this article by Medical News Today, Peaches: Health Benefits, Facts, Research.

For more information about the many health benefits of tea, head on over to my post on the Top 10 Health Benefits of Tea.

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