The Most Flavorful Way To Craft Your Own Peach Iced Tea

Just about everyone enjoys a nice glass of iced tea — especially in the summertime when it tastes most refreshing and satisfying. And for those of you who like a bit of sweetness, one of the methods you may turn to is by adding flavor, specifically peach. It's a popular choice for its bright and delicate floral taste and can be easily found at shops like Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Thankfully, it's just as easy to make at home for all your warm-weather cookouts and activities.

There's a way to make sure that you make the most flavorful peach iced tea possible: Make your own peach syrup. All you have to do is boil water, sugar, and peaches in a pan and then let the mixture simmer on low heat while stirring the fruit to distribute the sweet flavor throughout. Allow the sugar to dissolve, remove the pan from heat, and it should fully infuse together for up to 30 minutes. In the meantime, you can brew and prepare a pitcher of tea, and allow it to cool until ready to serve with the peach syrup. 

One of the biggest benefits of making your favorite food or drink at home is that you get to customize it to your exact preferences. In this case, you decide exactly how you want to sweeten the syrup. Traditionally, white sugar is used, but you could also opt for brown for a more caramel-like flavor. Or, you could even opt for a sugar-free sweetener if that's your style. Just keep in mind that natural options, including stevia or monk fruit, may affect the texture and thickness of your syrup so it may require some trial and error to find the right ratio.

Further, some recipes may suggest adding in other flavors such as vanilla extract or mint leaves to the pan while the syrup simmers or squeezing lemon juice at the end to create a more complex taste. Additionally, using a peach syrup makes way for the option of waiting to add it into the iced tea until after a pitcher is made — this way, if you're hosting, each guest can choose how sweet they want their tea to be.

All in all, it's pretty clear that the benefits of making your own peach syrup for your homemade iced tea outweigh the cons.