Sweet TeaEasy

Orange Sweet Tea

Southern sweet tea steeped with fresh orange zest and finished with orange juice — sunny, citrus-forward, and a little more complex than lemon sweet tea. The orange zest steeped directly in the hot tea gives a depth of flavour that juice alone cannot achieve.

20 min
Easy
Serves 6
Video preview
Orange Sweet Tea

Instructions

  1. 1

    Add the orange zest to the boiling water along with the tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove bags without squeezing; strain out the zest.

  2. 2

    Stir in the sugar while still hot until fully dissolved.

  3. 3

    Add the orange juice and cold water. Stir well and taste — adjust sweetness if needed.

  4. 4

    Refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice with an orange slice.

Pro tip

Steeping the orange zest with the tea bags infuses the tea with the essential oils from the peel — this gives a more rounded, complex orange flavour than juice alone. Use a vegetable peeler to get wide strips of zest with minimal white pith. Blood orange makes a stunning variation in season — the colour turns a beautiful deep amber-pink.

#orange#sweet tea#southern#citrus#sunny#summer
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