Iced Tea Recipe

Iced Tea is one of the most refreshing, cooling drinks there is. But there’s no need to buy expensive bottles because it’s so easy – and cheap – to make at home.

Brew a litre of your favourite tea (black, green, fruity, or herbal) then sweeten to taste. Add lemon juice for zingy flavour and top up with cold water to speed up the chilling. Then pop in the fridge until cold.

Serve over lots of ice, garnished with lemon slices and mint sprigs too if you like. Cooling, refreshing, and so good!

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TEA & ME

Temperatures have been off the charts this summer. So I’ve regularly been making cooling, refreshing Ice Tea to keep us hydrated – and because I love it! But, embarrassing as it is for a food and drink writer to admit, for years I was doing it all wrong.

I’m not much of a hot tea drinker, at least not the traditional British cuppa. I drink herb and fruit teas, but I don’t need all the fingers of one hand to count the cups of regular hot black tea I drink in a year. But when I do have a cup, I like it strong and black.

So, I assumed strong was how I’d like my iced tea too. But I was mistaken. I used to find my homemade attempts too bitter with tannin and therefore unpalatable. Eventually though, I realised that I was making my Iced Tea too strong. I discovered that lighter is so much nicer, more thirst quenching, and you don’t need to add loads of sweetener to enjoy it.

Now that I’ve got my recipe just right it’s my favourite summertime cold drink. So it’s time to share it with you.

EASY ICED TEA

Some recipes use all boiling water to make Iced Tea. But that just means it’s going to take longer to chill. Instead, I brew the tea with half hot water, later adding the same amount of cold. This speeds things up no end.

If you’re in no hurry, then you could cold brew the tea in the fridge overnight. Some say this makes it less bitter, but I don’t find my current version bitter anyway.

There’s also the halfway house of making ‘sun tea’. This involves putting tea bags in cold water then leaving it in the hot sun to infuse. Personally, I think that sounds like a recipe for food poisoning. And it’s even more off-putting if you’ve seen the Sun Tea episode of 30 Rock where Liz learns that the jarred liquid in Frank’s office isn’t just sun tea 😄.

You can use any tea bags you like (or loose-leaf tea if you have a strainer). Regular black or green tea, or your favourite herbal and fruit infusions will all work. My current favourite is a combination of black and mint teas. I find 5 bags plenty to make 2 litres of Iced Tea.

If you’ve never made Iced Tea before, I think you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. So easy, and cheap, that you’ll never buy a bottle from a store again.

You’ll find a recipe card at the end but here’s the basic steps.

HOW TO MAKE ICED TEA

1. Steep the tea bags in a litre of boiling water for 10 – 15 minutes.

2. Remove the bags and sweeten the tea to taste. Because I try to avoid most sugary drinks, I’ve recently starting using zero sugar and zero calorie Stevia in this tea. For my taste, just 3 teaspoons is plenty for a big jug that will serve 6-8 people.

3. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon.

4. Top up with a litre of cold water.

5. Pop in the fridge until cold.

And that’s all there is to it! Your Iced Tea is ready to serve.

SERVING ICED TEA

Iced Tea must be served over lots of ice: the clue is in the name 😁. You can either put the ice in another jug and pour the tea over, or half-fill (at least) glasses with ice then add the tea. For extra fresh flavour I pop in a few lemon slices plus a sprig or two of fresh mint when I have it.

A frosty glassful is so refreshing, I think this great drink is head and shoulders above the teas, pops, and sodas you can buy. Not to mention it’s a fraction of the cost.

If you fancy an occasional bit of fizz, leave the brewed tea to cool without adding the cold water and serve topped up with lemonade, ginger ale, or soda water instead. You can even make Iced Tea into a summer cocktail by adding a shot (or two!) of rum, vodka, gin, brandy, or whisky.

Iced Tea will keep for several days covered in the fridge, but I think it’s best drunk within 24-36 hours. It’s so easy to brew up another batch anyway, why not drink when it’s good and fresh?

How do you like your Iced Tea? Leave a comment and rate my recipe below.

5 from 1 vote

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Iced Tea Recipe

One of the most refreshing drinks is so easy, at cheap, to make at home using your favourite tea whether black, green, fruity, or herbal.

Course Drinks

Cuisine World

Keyword summer, easy

Prep Time 10 minutes

Brewing and chilling 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 2 litres

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 litre boiling water from a kettle
• 5 tea bags see Recipe Notes #1
• sugar, honey, or other sweetener to taste see Recipe Notes #2
• 1 lemon juice only
• 1 litre cold water

To serve

• ice cubes
• lemon slices
• sprigs of mint optional

Instructions

1. Put the tea bags in a large heatproof jug and pour over the boiling water.

   Stir and leave to brew for 10-15 minutes.

   Remove and discard the tea bags.

2. Add sweetener to taste, stirring to dissolve.

   Stir in the lemon juice and cold water then taste and add more sweetener if needed.

   Put the jug in the fridge and leave until completely cold.

   Tip: can be covered and stored in the fridge for several days although best drunk within 24-36 hours.

3. Half fill individual glasses or a serving jug with ice cubes and pour over the cold tea.

   Add the lemon slices plus the mint sprigs if using and serve.

Recipe Notes

Note #1 Tea bags. You can use any type of tea bag (or loose-leaf equivalent if you have a fine strainer) e.g. black, green, herbal, fruit. I like a combination of black and mint teas.

Note #2 Sweetener. I use 3 tsp of zero sugar, zero calorie Stevia for 2 litres of iced tea.

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