Homemade Orange Jalapeño Iced Tea
This easy-to-make homemade iced tea is sweetened with fruit juice and comes with a kick! It's the perfect non-alcoholic drink to enjoy all summer long.
Ingredients
- 5 cups water divided
- 2 cups not-from-concentrate orange juice or freshly squeeze, about 6 oranges
- 1 medium navel orange
- 1-2 fresh jalepenos
- ½ fresh lime
- 6 bags good quality black tea or 6 teaspoons loose leaf tea
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup optional, to enhance flavours
Instructions
- Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, slice orange in half. Take one half and slice it. Cut the other half into four chunks. Slice a tiny piece of flesh off the jalepeno and taste it. If it is mild, chop the whole jalepeno into 3-4 pieces. If it is quite spicy, remove half or all the seeds before chopping.
- Place chunks of orange and jalepeno into the boiled water along with the lime half. Carefully muddle them in the bottom of the pot and add the tea bags. Steep for 15-20 minutes, squeeze tea bags out completely and compost them.
- Strain the tea concentrate into the pitcher and add the remaining 2 cups water and 2 cups orange juice. Stir and taste. If you like, add maple syrup. Drop in the orange slices and a few slices of jalepeno if it isn't spicy enough - but keep in mind that the tea will get spicier the longer the jalepeno sits!
- Store in refrigerator for 3-4 days and enjoy over ice.