Cold Brew Iced Tea with Fresh Peach Slices

Store-bought peach tea usually tastes like sugar water with a vague peach memory somewhere in the ingredient list. This Cold Brew Iced Tea with Fresh Peach Slices fixes that with a homemade peach simple syrup that actually tastes like real fruit. I started making this after one too many disappointing bottled teas, and now it's a permanent fixture in my summer fridge.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings: 10

Course: crockpot, Drinks, Mocktail

Cuisine: American

Calories: 87

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

This recipe splits into two parts: the peach simple syrup and the tea itself. Both are simple but each plays a distinct role in the final flavor.
For the peach simple syrup:
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 cup water
2 ripe peaches thinly sliced plus extra for serving
For the tea:
2-3 Tbsp loose leaf black tea or 3-4 tea bags, depending on how strong you like it
8 cups filtered water

Equipment

Here's your full list:
A small saucepan for the peach simple syrup
A wooden spoon for crushing the peaches while they cook
A large pot or tea steeper for brewing the tea
A fine mesh strainer for straining both the syrup and the tea
A large pitcher for storing the finished tea
A bottle or container for storing the peach syrup separately
None of this requires a trip to a specialty store. FYI, if you don't own a tea steeper, a simple mesh tea ball or even a clean cheesecloth works just fine too.

Method

Step 1- Make the Peach Simple Syrup
Bring the sugar, water, and sliced peaches to a boil in a small saucepan. Lower the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir and crush the peaches as they cook, which helps release their flavor into the syrup. Once the sugar fully dissolves, cover the pan, remove it from heat, and let it steep for 25-30 minutes.
Step 2- Brew the Tea
While the syrup steeps, brew your tea using a large pot or a tea steeper. Adjust the amount of tea to your taste less for a milder cup, more if you like it strong. Don't let it steep longer than 4-5 minutes, or the tea turns bitter fast.
Step 3- Cool the Tea
Once brewed, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose leaf tea. Transfer the tea into a pitcher and pop it in the fridge to cool down completely.
Step 4- Strain the Syrup
Once your simple syrup finishes steeping, pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a bottle or container to separate out the peaches. Don't toss those peaches, by the way save them for topping oatmeal or an ice cream sundae later.
Step 5- Serve It Up
Serve the tea over ice with fresh sliced peaches on top. You can either set the syrup out separately and let everyone add as much as they want, or stir it all directly into the pitcher for a consistently sweet batch. I personally prefer keeping it separate since not everyone wants the same level of sweetness.

Notes

Servings and Calorie Count

This recipe makes 10 servings, which is perfect for a get-together or just stocking your fridge for the week. Each serving comes in at 87 calories, and here's the complete nutrition breakdown:

Calories: 87
Carbohydrates: 22.8g
Protein: 0.3g
Fat: 0.1g
Sodium: 6mg
Fiber: 0.5g
Sugar: 22.8g

Prep time takes 10 minutes, cook time runs about 40 minutes, and the total time comes to 50 minutes. Most of that is hands-off simmering and steeping, so you're not stuck babysitting a stove the whole time.