Drinking tea is almost a ritual for many people and there are some people who cannot start their day without their morning cup of fresh tea. Tea can be prepared in a number of ways and there are different varieties of tea leaves to choose from. Traditionally boiling water is poured over tea leaves in a teapot and then allowed to steep for a few minutes before being poured in cups. No milk or cream is added to the tea. However, one does not need to adhere to traditions while making a fresh cup of tea. Whether you want to add sugar, cream, mint leaves or lemon, you can add these to flavor your cup of tea. One of the most popular tea is lemon tea. Lemon tea as the name suggests is tea that is flavored or infused with a bit of fresh lemon juice. Lemon tea helps to energize the body instantly and it calms and soothes the mind. It is helpful in removing toxins from the body and it also aids digestion. Lemon tea benefits are immense and here we are going to reveal how to make lemon tea from scratch. Making Lemon Tea from Scratch To enjoy the fresh and invigorating flavor of lemon tea, it is best to make it from scratch. All you need are a few essential ingredients. Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups water
• ½ teaspoon tea leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 ½ teaspoon sugar

Method To make lemon tea, put the water to boil in a kettle or a saucepan. Thoroughly wash a lemon and grate the outer skin of the lemon to obtain lemon zest. Keep the lemon zest aside. Now cut a small sliver of lemon and squeeze the juice out and place it aside, making sure that no lemon seeds get into the juice. When the water in the saucepan or kettle comes to a boil, remove it from the flame and pour the water in the teapot. Add the tea leaves and close the lid of the teapot immediately and let the tea leaves steep for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of the freshly squeezed lemon juice into the teapot. Close the lid of the teapot and let the lemon juice infuse the tea for a few seconds. Serve lemon infused tea in a tea cup, add sugar and garnish with a slice of lemon. Stir to mix in the sugar and enjoy the invigorating taste of lemon tea. How to Make Lemon Iced Tea A glass of chilled lemon iced tea is just what you need on a hot summer afternoon. It is lot more healthy and tasty than any fizzy drink. Ingredients

• 6 black tea bags
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• Zest of 2 large lemons
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 8 cups water

Method Wash the lemons and grate the zest (the outer colored portion of the citrus peel) of the lemon into a small saucepan. Add sugar into the bowl and mix the sugar and lemon zest together. Add ½ cup of water into this mixture and slowly simmer it over a low flame, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves in water. Remove this mixture from the flame and add the fresh mint leaves to it. Let the mixture come to room temperature and then strain the mixture, discarding the lemon zest and mint leaves. You will be left with a sugar syrup infused with mint and lemon zest. Now boil 4 cups of water and steep the tea bags in it for 4-5 minutes. Remove tea bags from the water and stir in the sugar syrup and the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Remove mixture from heat and add 4 cups of cold water to this concoction. To serve iced lemon tea, add a few ice cubes to a tall glass and then pour the lemon tea over it. Garnish with a sprig of lemon juice before serving. Lemon tea whether served hot or cold, is one of the best beverage to have. It is just the right beverage to have since it soothes you and helps you to relax.