Southern Sweet Tea with Lemon and Mint
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Black tea steeps for 5 minutes, sugar and lemon juice are stirred into the hot tea, then it is diluted with cold water and ice, chilled and served with lemon and mint.
Based on the listed ingredients, none of the 14 major EU allergens. Always check product labels.
Method
- 1
Steep. Pour the boiled water over the tea bags in the heatproof jug and leave for exactly 5 minutes. Lift out the bags, pressing them gently against the side, and discard.
- 2
Sweeten while hot. Stir in the sugar while the tea is still hot until it has completely dissolved; it won't dissolve properly once cold. Stir in the lemon juice.
- 3
Dilute. Pour into the pitcher, add the cold water and about 300 g of the ice and stir. Taste and add a little more sugar if you like it sweeter.
- 4
Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until cold through.
- 5
Serve. Pour over the remaining ice in tall glasses and add a lemon round and a mint sprig.
Storage
Keeps covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low fat: 0 g fat per 100 ml (limit ≤ 1.5 g)
- Low saturated fat: 0 g saturated fat per 100 ml, 0% of energy (limits ≤ 0.75 g and ≤ 10%)
- Low salt: 0.01 g salt per 100 ml (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 ml of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 114 ml a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: about 25 mg caffeine (serving: 1 glass (about 125 ml brewed tea)). Source: about 125 ml brewed per serving × USDA FDC SR Legacy #173227 (brewed black tea, 20 mg/100 g).
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 25 mg · 2 servings: 50 mg · 3 servings: 75 mg · 4 servings: 100 mg.
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 6 % of 400 mg. EFSA
12.7 g per serving
25.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 50.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- kettle
- heatproof jug or large saucepan
- large pitcher (at least 2.5 litres)
- long spoon
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 51 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 13.4 g |
| of which sugars | 12.7 g |
| of which free sugars | 12.7 g |
| Fat | 0 g |
| of which saturates | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.01 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
0 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
