In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a simmer.

Once it comes to a simmer, turn off heat.

Then add tea bags to the pot and let it steep.

While your tea is steeping, work on the strawberries. Set aside 5 strawberries (to use as a garnish for your drinks.)

Take the rest of the strawberries and remove the stems (discard those) and slice the strawberries in half.

Pop the strawberries into a blender or food processor.

Blend until liquified.

Once your tea has finished steeping, pour it into a large pitcher.

Then pour the contents of the packets of Equal® into the brewed tea.

Give it all a stir to dissolve.

Next, take the strawberries you blended earlier and strain them over the sweetened tea.

Stir in strawberry extract (if using.)

Finally, add ice cubes OR frozen strawberries to the tea to cool it down.

Serve with strawberries as a garnish on top!