I for one, cannot ever get enough iced tea! Does not matter if it is 104 degrees outside, or 22 degrees with snow on the ground, iced tea is my drink of choice. The best part of drinking iced tea, versus most other drinks, it is ZERO calories... so I can drink up and not ever worry about gaining weight because of it!

Whether at home or out and about, iced tea seems to always quench my thirst. But, have you noticed, in restaurants, not all teas are created equal? My husband and I will return to a restaurant for a meal, based upon the quality and taste of the tea. Of course, they all use various blends and the way they brew up the tea has an effect on the cold glass they bring to your table. I have sent back many glasses, as they were either bitter or so watered down it looked like dirty water...not tea!!

In search of the perfect iced tea, at home I tried several different ways for an easy, quick recipe. I've tried instants, flavored, bottled, every kind I could find, but was never happy with how they tasted. I even broke down and bought an "ice tea maker"...what a waste of money that was!!! The ways I tried, never ended up with the perfect end result! The old standby which most people use and tell you about is 'sun tea'. I tried many different variations of making sun tea alone, and time and time I ended up with a big pitcher of "bitter" yuck! No matter if I let it brew in the sun for one hour or 24 hours...it always came out bitter!

I started asking questions at the restaurants with the yummy, perfect, thirst quenching tea and time after time the answer: "We brew it just like we do coffee". After getting that answer the second time, home I went and a brewin' I was!

The result: The Perfect Iced Tea in Less Than 10 Minutes!! To this day, that is all I make. We now have a fresh pitcher of tea each and everyday....it could not be any more simple!

So here's how:

You need a coffee automatic/drip coffee maker such as those made by Mr. Coffee, Black and Decker, Cuisinart or even Starbucks. I use Lipton tea bags, but you can use any tea of your liking. You can use ground tea, but tea bags make it that much quicker and easier. Ten bags seems to work best for the strength and taste we enjoy; you can adjust to your liking after you have experimented a time or two.

I unwrap the tea bags, and place them in the filter I normally use to brew coffee. Fill the pot with water, turn on and let the hot tea brew. Within about 5 minutes (normal for most coffee brewers) I end up with a piping hot carafe of tea. In the meantime, I fill a pitcher half full with cold, cold water and pour the hot tea mixture in...my ice tea is then complete!!

I always have plenty of crushed ice on hand, because I can instantly begin enjoying the fresh brewed tea the moment I fill up the pitcher.

I love my tea with a fresh squeeze of lemon, so I purchase fresh ones from the grocer every few days, slice and place them in a zip lock baggy in the frig.

See, less than 10 minutes, you have an iced tea worthy of consumption!  What could be easier?  I only wish we could grow lemons here in Montana!! :-)