Southwest Summertime Cooler (orange-mint Iced Tea)

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 quarts cold water, divided (8 cups)
• 12 tea bags or 4 family-size tea bags
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
• 4 cups orange juice (reconstituted frozen orange juice concentrate is fine)
• 2 -8 tablespoons honey (according to your preference for sweetness, 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup)
• 8 -10 sprigs fresh mint, washed thoroughly
• ice cubes or crushed ice

Recipe

• 1 in a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart water to a boil.
• 2 remove from heat, and while water is still bubbling, add tea bags and 1/4 cup mint.
• 3 cover and let steep 8 minutes, then remove and discard tea bags and mint.
• 4 put remaining quart of cold water into a large pitcher or insulated jug.
• 5 add hot tea to cold water.
• 6 let cool to room temperature.
• 7 add orange juice, honey, and mint sprigs, and mix well.
• 8 store in refrigerator & serve over ice.