Very Berry Iced Tea with Honey Mint Syrup

Ingredients

For the Tea:

• 8 Tetley Green and Black tea bags
• 8 cups cold water, divided
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

For the Mint Syrup:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• 6 Tbsp lemon juice (takes approximately 1 & 1/2 lemons)

For the Muddled Fruit:

• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tsp sugar

Garnish:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Mint

Preparation

Boil 4 cups of water; turn off heat as soon as water starts to boil and add tea bags and baking soda; let steep for 5 minutes. Put 4 cups cold water in a pitcher and add the tea. Refrigerate until cold.
To Make the Honey Mint Syrup:
Combine sugar, honey, water, mint leaves and lemon juice in a medium size pan over medium heat; stirring well until all of the sugar and honey is dissolved. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes to extract mint flavor; remove from heat and cool thoroughly.
To Make the Muddled Fruit:
Put the strawberries and blueberries into a medium bowl and gently muddle with a muddler or a large spoon. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar, mix well and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
To Prepare the Tea:
Spoon 1/4 cup of fruit and juices into the bottom of a tall glass. Fill the glass with ice and pour tea into glass until about an inch from the top.
Measure 2-3 Tbsps of the Honey Mint Syrup into the tea and stir to combine. Garnish with mint, strawberries and blueberries.