Easy Fruity Iced Tea Recipe, Tastes Like Fruit Punch, Extremely Frugal

Something I noticed is that when I stay home, I often don't remember to drink, and even though I don't exert myself tremendously, I end up dehydrated by the end of the day. For that reason, among others, I decided to start having tasty drinks available at home, and you know me, that means made from scratch. I mean, to be honest, with everything going on in my life and extra stressors, I have been known to "cheat" and buy ready made foods sometimes, because sanity is important, but drinks are just so easy to make from home that I don't see any point in buying them. While I and my family certainly enjoy lemonade, I wanted to mix things up and have other types of drinks available.

I make this iced tea, which I call "iced fruit tea" but my sons insist that it tastes like fruit punch, and I should call it that. While I say fruit, its doesn't really matter which- I use pretty much any of them that have a red color (those usually contain hibiscus) whether its rosehip and hibiscus, wild berry, pomegranate, strawberry, cranberry. The flavor will vary slightly, but either way it'll be delicious.

As for the cost of this, especially compared to a bottle of store bought iced tea or any store bought drink...  Using bottled lemon juice, this costs approximately 30 cents to make 1.5 liters. Definitely a good cheapskate bargain. And as you see, it takes only approximately 30 seconds to make.

I was debating at first if I should post this or not, since it is such an easy recipe, and I don't even usually measure, just make it to taste, but I'm trying to remember that what might be simple to one person might not be obvious to another, and people do appreciate the easy cheapo recipes too.

Easy Fruity Iced Tea Recipe, Tastes Like Fruit Punch, Extremely Frugal

Ingredients:
1-2 fruit tea teabags
1/3-1/2 cup sugar
1/4-1/3 cup lemon juice
Approximately 6 cups water

Instructions:
1. Put one or two teabags in a pitcher or a 1.5 liter bottle.

2. Add sugar (add the smaller amount at first) and lemon juice (add the smaller amount at first) and part of the water. Yes, cold water. Yes, it works.

3. I like to use a bottle for this reason, because now I shake it up really hard until the sugar dissolves. You can mix this in a pitcher but I find it easier in a bottle.

4. Once the sugar is all dissolved, add the rest of the water, nearly to the top. See if you like how it is, and if not, add more sugar and/or lemon and then mix again.

5. If desired, chill before serving or serve with ice. You don't have to, though. Just shaking it up to dissolve the sugar is usually enough time for the teabag to seep and the flavor to come through.

Enjoy!

Note: I generally make this with just one tea bag, but my kids say it tastes more like fruit punch when I put in two. They like it either way, so I vary it up.

Feel free to do this with whatever sweetener you prefer. It won't taste exactly the same, or have the same vibrant color, but still will be good.

What is the drink of choice in your home? If its something aside from water, do you make it from scratch or buy it in the store?