Heat the water to 90–95°C. Add the black tea bags and steep for 2½–3 minutes maximum. Remove the tea bags without squeezing, since squeezing forces out the most concentrated, bitter liquid held inside them. Do not oversteep, or the tea will turn harsh and tannic — with no fruit or syrup in this recipe to soften that harshness, a steep that runs even slightly long is far more noticeable here than in a more layered preparation.

Let the tea cool to lukewarm before moving to the next step. This pause matters more than it might seem, since both the honey and the lemon peel behave differently depending on the tea's temperature when they're introduced.

While the tea is still warm, stir in 2 tablespoons of honey until fully dissolved. Taste and add up to 1 additional tablespoon only if needed. The tea should be lightly sweetened, not sweet — this recipe is built around restraint, and the honey's job is to round the tea's natural tannin rather than to make the drink taste of honey.

Let the tea cool fully to room temperature before adding the lemon peel. Adding citrus peel to still-warm tea risks extracting more of the pith's bitter compounds than a cold infusion would, even with the white pith already trimmed away.

Add the strip of lemon peel to the cooled tea. Let it infuse for 5–10 minutes only, just until a light citrus aroma develops. Remove the peel promptly to avoid bitterness — this step is purely aromatic, contributing fragrance rather than any meaningful acidity, and there's no benefit to leaving it in any longer once that fragrance is present.

Refrigerate for 1–2 hours until fully cold and clean in flavour. The cold rest is what brings the tea, honey, and faint lemon aroma into a single cohesive character rather than three separate impressions.

Fill glasses with ice. Pour over the chilled black iced tea and garnish with a lemon slice or twist if desired. Serve cold, crisp, lightly sweet, and clean.