Heat 1 litre of water to 90–95°C. Add 8 or 9 tea bags — 8 for a clearly present but not dominant tea structure; 9 for a more assertively tea-forward preparation where the black tea's character is the unambiguous primary register. Steep for exactly 3 minutes. Remove all bags simultaneously without squeezing. The brief's note — strong tea, not bitter tea — is the most accurate single-sentence description of what the 3-minute extraction at 90–95°C specifically produces: the desirable theaflavins and thearubigins at full concentration ahead of the harsh tannin fraction.

Immediately after removing the bags, stir the light brown sugar into the hot tea until completely dissolved. The initial quantity of 140g is specifically the moderate sweetness calibration — present as a smoothing and balancing element but below the threshold where the tea tastes specifically sweet. The 180g upper end is the Southern sweet tea tradition where the sugar is prominently perceptible as sweetness rather than as structural balance; both are valid and the choice reflects the gathering's preference. The light brown sugar in hot tea dissolves with specific efficiency, integrating its warm caramel-adjacent character into the tea's own warm, tannic depth at the molecular level during dissolution. Dark brown sugar would add a specifically molasses-adjacent heaviness to the tea's already-warm character that would compete with the lemon's forthcoming brightness.

Allow the sweetened tea to cool for 5 minutes after sugar dissolution — until it is specifically warm rather than aggressively steaming. Add the lemon zest. Cover and steep for 5–8 minutes. The lemon zest's function in this step is specifically aromatic: the warm tea medium extracts the fat-soluble volatile terpene oils from the lemon peel's outer cells — primarily limonene, citral, and various lemon-specific esters — and dissolves them into the tea. These compounds provide the specifically clean, fresh, immediately identifiable lemon aromatic impression that cold lemon juice's water-soluble citric acid cannot replicate. The citric acid in the juice provides brightness and structural acid; the zest's terpene oils provide the specifically aromatic lemon fragrance. The two together produce the specifically layered, complete lemon character the brief describes. Strain the zest completely. Allow the extract to cool to room temperature or refrigerate until fully cold.

Pour the cooled lemon tea extract into the large pitcher. Add the 180ml of fresh lemon juice — cold, directly into the cold extract. The cold-addition of the lemon juice specifically preserves the volatile aromatic compounds that would diminish if lemon juice were added to still-warm tea. Add 1.8 litres of ice-cold water. Stir gently. Taste with the tea-primary assessment: the first impression should be specifically of iced tea — the warm, structured, amber, tannic character of good black tea at cold temperature — with lemon's aromatic freshness and bright acid providing the immediate second impression. The lemon should be clearly identifiable as both a fragrance (from the zest-extracted oils) and a freshness (from the juice's acid), but should not overwhelm the tea's primary structural identity. If the lemon specifically tastes like the dominant character, the balance has crossed from lemon iced tea into iced tea lemonade — more cold water corrects this. If the tea is too specifically assertive against the lemon's contribution — more cold water up to 2.2L moderates the tannin concentration.

Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours. Stir once before the first pour. Add lemon slices and lemon peel twists at service. Serve cold.