Honey & Lemon Sweet Iced Tea

Refreshing and delicious, this sweet iced tea has lovely hints of lemon and honey! I created this drink on a total whim one hot afternoon. We were working in the yard doing a bunch of little projects, sweating away (hah sorry TMI) and K asked if we had anything yummy and cold to drink.  The only thing we had in the fridge was milk, which was definitely not the right thirst quencher so I rummaged around in the cabinet and found these cold brew tea bags that I picked up awhile back.  I put a quick simple syrup together and saw the honey sitting on the counter, so I poured a couple tablespoons of that in for extra sweetness and flavor.  We had lemons on hand too, so I squeezed in some juice and added a few slices for garnish as well.

I don't make homemade drinks very often, so I was excited to use this beautiful pitcher that my mom painted for me a few years ago.  We had an awesome sour cherry tree in our backyard and unfortunately it was destroyed in a major snow storm. I was really bummed about it so she painted this amazing pitcher to cheer me up and to remember it by. I just noticed, while I was typing this post, that you can see the reflection of me taking the photo in the pitcher. Of course I am in this weird squating position to get the right photo angel. Awkward..... I suppose I could go back and edit it out but what's the fun in that :)

I hope you give this sweet tea a try and you enjoy it as much as we did!

Honey Lemon Sweet Iced Tea

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 lemons, divided
10 cold brew black tea bags
2 quarts water
Ice

Start by making a simple syrup.  Combine the 1 cup of water with the sugar in a small saucepan.  Heat the mixture over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until all of the sugar dissolves.  The water does not have to boil, it should just look completely clear and free of any sugar crystals.  Stir in the honey and let this mixture cool for at least 10 minutes.  Add 2 quarts of water and a full tray of ice cubes to a pitcher.  Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon.  Add the tea bags and let them steep for five minutes.  I used 10 cold brew black tea bags (which can be found at most supermarkets in the tea section). You could definitely make this with any tea that you like. Just brew the tea in boiling water, as directed and then cool completely.  Remove the tea bags and stir in as much simple syrup as you like. I used the full amount and the tea was pretty sweet but not overly sweet in my opinion. If you like a less sweet tea, start with half of the mixture and go up from there. Cut the second lemon into slices and add them to the pitcher.  Serve the iced tea in glasses full of ice cubes and a slice of lemon, if desired!

Enjoy!