Perfect Iced Tea

I never thought I would need a recipe for iced tea, but this works SO well....every time. No guesswork.

Ingredients:

6 regular sized tea bags (use orange pekoe, oolong, green, or your favorite)
or two large tea bags
1/8 teaspoon baking soda (or, a good pinch)
2 cups boiling water
6 cups cold water

Optional: simple syrup (see below)

Directions:

Tie the strings of the tea bags together for easy removal. Place the tea bags and baking soda in a glass measuring cup or ceramic teapot large enough to accommodate the boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags. Cover immediately and allow to steep for 10 minutes exactly (set the timer). Remove the tea bags, careful not to squeeze them. Pour the concentrate into a two-quart glass or ceramic pitcher and add the cold water all at once. Sweeten, if desired. Let cool, then chill and serve over ice. Makes 2 quarts.
Tea will become cloudy if refrigerated while still warm. Add a little boiling water clear up the cloudiness.

Simple Syrup

2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup water

Mix sugar, syrup and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely at room temperature. Pour into a covered container an refrigerate. Use this to sweeten iced tea and a variety of beverages. Can be stored indefinitely in refrigerator. Yield: 2 cups.