Peach iced tea in five minutes

Miss Thrifty5 September 2, 2014

peach iced tea recipe

Quick! One last swing at summer, if this week’s weather forecasts are anything to go by. This summer I have been addicted to peach iced tea. I was going to post the recipe a couple of weeks ago, but the August sky had turned black and the drizzle had been falling for days and… well, a thrifty hot toddy would have been more appropriate.

If you don’t like Pimm’s or don’t buy it because it is too expensive (right now the cheapest Pimm’s deal is £12 for 70cl from Tesco), then this peach iced tea recipe may be for you. I actually prefer peach iced tea to Pimm’s: chilled until it is super-cold, it is as thirst-quenching as it is delicious.

This version is relatively cheap if your palate favours a delicate brew and you have the right teabags in the house. Which is a roundabout way of saying: the more robust teas, such as Kenyan and my favourite Assam, ain’t gonna cut it. Too strong. Sadly, value or budget teabags don’t work for this recipe either: in peach iced tea, they taste rank. Sorry, but it’s true. It’s Darjeeling, Earl Grey or the high way, baby.

On the bright side, Darjeeling teabags are currently available from ASDA for £1.38 for 50. So this recipe, which makes a large jugful, costs around 20p in tea.

The other good news is that for some reason unbeknownst to me, peaches are relatively cheap this year. I have been picking them up for 50p – £1 a punnet in Morrisons. The other ingredients, you should have already: mint grows anywhere, lemons are useful all around the house (my Six Thrifty Uses for a Lemon post continues to draw traffic) and fresh ginger freezes beautifully, don’t you know.

Finally, this is a very simple recipe, as peach iced tea goes: it is based on one I found on Epicurious. Lots of recipes have you fannying about over the hob, boiling up peaches with the sugar to make a sweet peachy syrup. For this peach iced tea recipe, you simply chuck the peaches and the sugar into a blender together, then add to the tea. No sticky hob cleaning required.

For me, this recipe works out at less than £1 a pitcher. The single most expensive ingredient is the lemon, at around 25p.


Peach iced tea recipe

3 peaches
7 Darjeeling or Earl Grey teabags
Kettle of boiling water
Handful of sugar
1 lemon
Nub of fresh ginger
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Ice cubes

Instructions

1. Put the teabags in a heatproof jug or pitcher with the water. Let the tea steep for a few minutes before removing the teabags.

2. Meanwhile, slice the lemon and ginger. Add the lemon and ginger to the tea. Leave to cool.

3. Peel and stone 2 of the peaches. Throw in the blender with the sugar. Blend.

peach iced tea

4. When the tea is cool, add the peach mixture and stir well.

5. Slice the remaining peach and add it to the peach iced tea, along with the mint leaves.

6. When you are ready to serve, add as many ice cubes as you have to your tea jug and give your peach iced tea a good stir.

Do taste before serving: if you like your peach iced tea super-sweet, American-style, you may wish to add more sugar.

I have found that this peach iced tea recipe keeps very well in the fridge for a couple of days. The flavours infuse and develop over time.

Time to get glugging…

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5 Responses to “Peach iced tea in five minutes

I love iced tea and have never been able to make it. We end up buying it and then there is no control over price (well, it is over-priced) and sugar. Thanks for sharing this: I’ll try today.

September 6, 2014 at 9:21 am

Anne Rhodes says:

I always buy my lemons for my iced tea from Aldi, usually 3 for 69p. Some weeks only 39p for 3 have to look out for their offers.

September 8, 2014 at 12:06 pm

Colleen says:

I’m addicted to a certain *cough* type of Peach Ice Tea so will definitely be looking forward to trying this. Now to find a cheap blender…

October 7, 2014 at 5:25 pm

Consollo says:

We love peach iced tea! We will definitely be giving this a try in our office soon!

October 13, 2014 at 12:25 pm

Christine says:

How much is a nub of ginger please ? And how much sugar do you add . ? As this recipe sounds great.

June 9, 2015 at 10:04 pm

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