PEACH BASIL ICED TEA

Peach Basil Iced Tea image

Yield Makes about 7 cups.

Number Of Ingredients 9

3 orange pekoe tea bags
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 cups water
five 5 1/2-ounce cans peach nectar (about 3 1/3 cups), chilled
1/4 cup chilled simple syrup or to taste
For simple syrup:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
Garnish: peach slices and basil sprigs

Steps:

Put tea bags and basil in a quart-size glass measure or heatproof bowl.
In a saucepan bring water just to a boil and pour over tea bags. Steep tea 5 minutes and strain through a sieve into a heatproof pitcher. Cool tea and chill, covered, until cold, about 1 hour.
Stir in nectar and syrup. Serve tea over ice in tall glasses and garnish with peach slices and basil sprigs.
To make simple syrup:
In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring, and boil until sugar is completely dissolved. Let syrup cool and chill, covered. Syrup may be made 2 weeks ahead and chilled, covered. Makes about 2 cups.