Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea

For our inaugural tea party menu, we looked for summery cocktails that contained tea since they sounded a lot more refreshing than hot tea in the middle of July. I wanted one with black tea and one with green tea, and Sarah chose this one for the black tea drink! If you like the combination of black tea and lemon, you'll almost certainly love this.

Notes:

• I used New Amsterdam citrus vodka.
• For further variation, you could try a different fruit flavored vodka or a fruit flavored black tea that goes well with citrus and tea (berry flavors in particular sound nice).
• I made the tea concentrate part ahead (this is especially convenient if you have limited fridge space so you don't have to store a whole pitcher) and finished making the lemonade the next day, right before the gathering at which I served it.
• You will want to let the ice cubes melt a bit to water it down, otherwise it's going to be VERY strong. Alternatively, you could add less vodka if you want a less boozy beverage.

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RECIPE:

Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea
adapted from Tea & Candles and inspired by The Lemon Bowl
Serves 6

4 neutral flavored black tea bags, or about 3 tbsp loose leaf black tea
3/4 cup (6 fl oz, about 175 ml) boiling water
1/3 cup granulated sugar or honey
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (12 fl oz, 350 ml) citrus flavored or plain vodka
Ice

In a small heatproof bowl, steep tea in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, or up to 10 minutes if you like strong tea. Remove or strain out and discard tea bags/leaves. Add sugar or honey and stir until dissolved. Let cool until the bowl is cool enough to handle, then refrigerate until chilled. Transfer the tea mixture to a pitcher. Add lemon juice and vodka and stir to combine. Add about a tray's worth of ice cubes (~14 cubes) and mix to combine. Serve immediately.