#2,657: Instant Pot Iced Tea

I have a whole lot of green tea bags in my pantry and I have got to start using them up.  I love unsweetened iced tea (okay maybe that's not true because I usually add some stevia into it too), so I figured there had to be a way to make some ice tea in my Instant Pot.  I was right...thank you Pinterest!  

The original recipe I found had basil in it too, but I wasn't in the mood for basil, even though I have a ton of it in my garden.  Oh, maybe I should try adding the chocolate mint next time.  Does chocolate mint and green tea go together?!  

This is a really mild tea...but I love that about it.  Sometimes ice tea is so bitter and strong, but this is not bitter and it is not too strong.  I also didn't have any lemons or limes on hand, but I did have my Young Living Vitality Essential oil, so I added 10 drops of each to the slightly cooled liquid, along with 2 tbsp of swerve sugar substitute.  DELISH!  

I've made this so many times now, I just keep trying different types of tea that are in my pantry (I have quite a few).  Today I made it with 5 bags of green tea and 5 bags of Detox tea from Oola!  LOVE!  This is such a versatile recipe so use whatever tea bags you have on hand!  

1 gallon water (16 cups)

1/4 c honey

10 bags of green tea

pinch of baking soda 

Lemon slices (I omitted, see my note above)

Lime slices (I omitted, see my note above)

Basil leaves (I omitted)

Remove the tags from the tea bags, tie all the strings together to make it easier to remove the tea bags later.

Add the water to the Instant Pot and turn on the saute function so it starts to warm up the water. Mix in the honey and baking soda until it is dissolved.  Once dissolved, hit cancel.  Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is in the sealed position.  Switch the setting to pressure cook on high and set the timer to 4 minutes.  

When done release the pressure using a controlled quick release. Let tea cool to room temperature then pour into a pitcher to store in the refrigerator.  I let mine cool for about 30 minutes, then I added the vitality essential oils and the poured into a glass pitcher.  I drank a glass immediately served over ice (yum!), and then put the rest of the pitcher into the fridge to get cold overnight.  

If desired, you can serve this poured over ice with lemon slices, lime slices, and basil leaves. If you like a sweeter tea, you can add more honey to your glass.