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!

First posted 2022, updated 2026

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TEA & ME

Spring and summer temperatures have been off the charts these last few years. So I’ve regularly been making cooling, refreshing Iced 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, especially mint. But I probably don’t need all my fingers 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.

Head and shoulders above expensive botted versions, homemade Iced Tea is my favourite warm weather cold drink.

EASY HOMEMADE 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 😄).

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.

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. You can use regular sugar, honey, low calorie sweeteners like Stevia, or any other you fancy.

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 homemade Iced Tea is ready to serve.

SERVING HOMEMADE 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.

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

If you fancy a 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 few shots 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?

If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought. Please do leave a comment and rating.

5 from 1 vote

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Iced Tea Recipe

One of the most refreshing, cool drinks is so easy and cheap to make at home. You can use any of your favourite teas: black, green, fruity, or herbal.

For a fizzy iced tea swap in soda water, lemonade or ginger ale for the plain water. For an iced tea cocktail add a few shots of gin, vodka, brandy, whisky or rum.

Please read the accompanying blog post before starting.

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 (or the equivalent loose tea if you have a strainer)
• sugar, honey, or other sweetener to taste
• 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.

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