I make a cordial with tea and it is amazing. It is just tea, light rum, sugar, and a bit of almond extract.
I usually make a gallon. Keeps the recipe easy.
Make 3 quarts of very strong black tea (like triple strength). I like Luzianne brand tea, but whatever brand you like to make iced tea with. Sweeten with 2/3rds of a cup of granulated white sugar per quart of tea (Less or more if you desire per quart, but i recommend not less than 1/3rd cup of sugar per quart...not sweet enough with less than that).
Mix 3 parts of the strong black tea to one part rum. So 3 quarts tea and 1 quart rum. White rum is recommended, i typically use Bacardi.
Pour the whole gallon of cordial into a glass container that has a good, secure lid.
Add just 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the whole gallon batch.
Put the lid on, and shake vigorously for a few minutes. (making sure sugar is completely dissolved)
Store in a cool, dark place for 2 months minimum, shaking vigorously twice weekly (at least until sugar is completely dissolved).
Once the sugar stays dissolved all the time, it is basically ready, but let it sit for 2 or 3 months.
Make a pitcher of unsweetened iced tea (ideally using the same kind of tea that you made the cordial with).
Pour a big glass of the unsweetened tea over ice, then use the cordial to sweeten it to your taste rather than sugar. You can also sweeten the whole pitcher to taste with the cordial if you need more than 1 glass at a time.
It is amazing, and the perfect way to wind down from a hot day.
I'm not entirely sure what the shelf life of it would be. It would be years, but it always gets drank faster than that.
We call it "Tea-Lua"
Please enjoy responsibly.