Peach iced tea in five minutes

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

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…