Here is another refreshing iced tea recipe from BellyBytes.com! This one uses orange pekoe tea, which is a basic black tea that is highly fragrant, with fruity and floral notes, a woodsy aroma, and a sweet aftertaste. The original recipes calls for 3 teabags, but I like my tea strong, so I used 4.
4 bags orange pekoe tea
4 cups water
3 1/3 cups chilled apricot nectar (five, 5 1/2 oz cans)
1/2 cup chilled simple syrup, or to taste (see below)
fresh apricots, optional
Put tea bags in a heat resistant pitcher. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over tea bags. Steep tea for 5 minutes and remove tea bags. Cool tea and chill, covered, for about 1 hour or until cold.
Stir in chilled nectar and simple syrup. If using, halve and remove stones from apricots. Place 2-3 apricot halves and ice in each glass. Pour tea over ice and apricots.
Simple Syrup:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
To make Simple Syrup:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring. Boil until sugar dissolves. Let syrup cool and chill, covered. Simple Syrup will keep for 2 weeks. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
