Crisp and refreshing homemade iced tea is easy to make and easy to scale up for a crowd. This is always a hit at summer gatherings. Serve it with your favorite sweetener or enjoy it unsweetened.
Homemade drinks like Lemonade, Iced Coffee, and this Iced Tea are such a treat in summer and so much better than storebought.
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Whether you’re looking for a drink to round out your summer BBQ with Juicy Burgers and Grilled Corn on the Cob, or just want to have some quick caffeine on hand throughout the day, you’ll love this iced tea recipe.
We’re sharing all the tips and tricks you need to make the most flavorful, refreshing sweetened, or unsweetened iced tea.
How to Make Iced Tea
Homemade iced tea only requires a few simple steps and ingredients. Follow the process below and you’ll be sipping tea on the porch in no time.
- Brew the Tea: In a saucepan, bring half the water to boil and remove it from heat. Add in the tea bags and allow them to steep for 10 minutes.
- Remove the Tea Bags: Remove the tea bags from the hot water. If you want sweet tea, add the sugar and whisk until it’s completely dissolved.
- Add the Cold Water: Add the remaining cold water to the hot tea and whisk. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until chilled.
- Serve: Serve the tea over ice with lemon slices and fresh mint.
Tips for the Best Iced Tea
Below, find a couple of tips and tricks to help you make the best iced tea.
- Be sure to measure the water. To prevent your tea from turning out too strong or too watery, measure the water to make sure you aren’t adding too much or too little.
- Set a timer for the steeping. Don’t let the tea steep longer than 10 minutes, or else it will turn bitter. Set a timer so you don’t forget to remove the bags.
- Experiment with different teas. If you’re not a fan of black tea, try using green tea instead. You could also go caffeine-free and use a variety of herbal teas. Mint tea is especially delicious iced.
- Play around with different sweeteners. You can use honey, agave syrup, coconut sugar, or even maple syrup to sweeten your tea. Play around with different sweeteners and tea combinations to see what you like best!
- Use filtered water. Use filtered water instead of tap water to get the smoothest flavor. There are lots of additives and minerals in tap water that can dull the taste.
Can I use loose-leaf tea? Yes, one teabag roughly equals about one teaspoon of loose leaf tea so you’ll need 2 Tablespoons. Simply dump the tea leaves into the hot water and strain them out using a fine-mesh sieve. Follow the directions as noted and enjoy!
Storing Iced Tea
Store iced tea in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Use a pitcher that has a sealable spout so your tea doesn’t soak up the smells in your refrigerator.
Note: As the tea sits, you may notice some tea particles settling at the bottom of the pitcher. That’s perfectly natural and normal and there’s no need to shake before serving.
Common Questions
Iced tea does have health benefits. It’s packed with antioxidants and has much less acidity than coffee, making it a great option for folks with a sensitive GI system.
Sun tea is an old-fashioned method of brewing iced tea. You brew sun tea by putting a pitcher of water in the sun with tea bags or loose tea. Over the course of the day, the tea will steep in the natural sunlight. Once brewed, place it in the refrigerator to chill.
Absolutely! You can cold brew your iced tea by placing tea bags or loose leaf tea in filtered water. Let the mixture steep in the refrigerator for 6-12 hours, or until the tea tastes to your liking.
Homemade iced tea is so quick and easy to make and you’ll love that it keeps really well in the refrigerator.
More Summer Recipes to try
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Blackberry Limeade
- Mango Pineapple Smoothie
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Acai Bowl
- Raspberry Jam
Iced Tea Recipe (Extra Easy)
Ingredients
- 8 cups water, divided
- 6 bags black tea
- 1/3 cup sugar, optional, adjust to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring half of the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add tea bags. Allow the tea bags to steep for 10 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags from the water. Note: If you prefer sweet tea, add the sugar or your preferred sweetener to the tea while it’s still hot and stir until dissolved.
- Add the remaining water to the tea. Leave it refrigerated until fully chilled (about an hour).
- Serve with ice, lemon slices, and fresh mint if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Hey Natasha ! First of all , I love how simple are your recipes but always so tasty. I was wondering , my jar for Iced Tea can contains only 4L of water , so I cut your ingedients in half , and honey instead of sugar , would it work ? Thank you for everything you done 😊😊😊
Hi Myranie, yes, you can halve the ingredients in this recipe. I hope you love it!
I add one Raspberry Tea bag to my brew, it gives the tea a sweetness and a little variety. While the tea is still warm I add 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Peggy!
I’ve found that British tea bags make the strongest, bitter free ice tea. Those Brits know their tea.
That’s great to know. Thanks for sharing.
I make mine with English tea…Yorkshire Gold. Also add juice from one lemon. Delicious
Tip-I have a salt shaker full of baking soda for tea and coffee. If you add a few dashes of baking soda to the tea, it takes the acid aftertaste away and makes it more alkaline.
Almost all bottled water has sodium bi-carbonate (baking soda) in it. So it is like making tea with bottled water vs. tap water.
One shake in a cup of coffee removes the acid as well.
Thanks a lot for the suggestion and idea, Julie. We appreciate it!
I simply fill my clean coffee carafe with cold water & pour it into my coffee maker then a couple tea bags in the empty carafe and turn on the unit. Once it’s done I pour the brewed tea into a pitcher & Chill it.
Sounds good!
Could this recipe be used for green tea bags instead of black? Would you make it the same way? Thanks!
Hi Kate, if you’re not a fan of black tea, try using green tea instead. You could also go caffeine-free and use a variety of herbal teas. Mint tea is especially delicious iced.
Just to make sure – when you say 6 tea bags, you do mean the small, regular sized tea bags? (As compared to like those large Lipton tea bags).
Hi Sarah, see the picture reference in the recipe blog for a visual. They are standard tea bags.
How many tea bags?also what size tea bags? I use a pot with 8 cups of water. Half boiled and half when steeping is done.
This is so good! next time I will try adding some lemon wedges. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome and sounds good, Isa!
Needed a tea recipe and chose yours. Hoping any family you have in Ukraine are safe.
Thank you, Stacy! I hope you love this recipe!
How much loose tea would you use instead of tea bags in this recipe?
Hi Sherrie, I have instructions for this in the recipe notes under “Tips for the Best Iced Tea”, keep scrolling and you’ll see it there.
This recipe was amazing, but I was wondering could I use raspberry tea bags?
Hi Penelope! I bet that could work! I always recommend making the recipe as written and then adjusting to your preference. I hope you love this recipe!
Thank you for the recipe – it’s very easy to make and I look forward to trying it with all sorts of teas.
Quick question – in the nutritional information, you list it per serving. What is the serving size? 8oz? 16oz?
I only ask because I’ve been tracking meals lately. Thanks so much!
Hi Brian, depending on how much your water cooks down, this recipe should make 1/2 a gallon (about 64 ounces). Since this serves six people, that is about 10oz per person. I hope that helps!
Will you share what brand of tea you use?
We’ve gone to restaurants and have had that very sharp, crisp feeling tea and we can’t seem to be able to replicate it.
The tea we make at home just doesn’t have that same “sharpness” or clarity we have at restaurants. We’ve also tried the baking soda addition that other people have mentioned.
We also only use filtered water (I don’t like tap, we used to get sick from it back in Texas) and have even tried expensive water bottles – so, I’m starting to feel like it’s a tea brand issue or we aren’t preparing it correctly.
Any insight would be appreciated!
Hi Deven, some sharpness can be lost with sugar and sweeteners and the type of sweetener used can also affect the clarity. Teas will vary in flavor but some good ones to try are: Wholefoods 365 Organic Black team, Numi Organic Breakfast Blend, Newmans Own black tea, PG Tips, Tazo black tea and Twinnings.
Hello, can you please share where did you buy these drinking cups for this iced tea? thank you
Hi Nataliya, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
it is super tasty
Thank you!
Nastasia,
great video loves your show. but can you show me with video so I have a better idea of how to make iced tea for summer thank you?
ps. keep up the great work.
Lisa
Thanks for the suggestion, Lisa. We cannot create videos for all of our written recipes at the moment but hopefully, we can do more videos from my old recipes later on in the future,
I am addicted to Peach Mango Crystal Light green tea. Bad thing is it has aspartame. Trying to find a recipe that has similar taste. I have some fruit flavored Skinny Girl Syrups on order. Going to experiment with your method but use the SG syrup for sweetener.
I hope you love this recipe, Bonnie!
Thank you for this recipe Natasha! The best iced tea I’ve ever made. Served with lemon slices. Perfectly sweetened and so refreshing!
That’s so great, Cindy! I’m so happy it’s the best you ever tried!
This iced tea was the simplest I have ever made and the best. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Kristen, I am so happy to hear that. Thank you for the wonderful review.
This is one of those summer drinks that no one can get enough of! Super easy too!
So refreshing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Natalie!
We love this easy recipe during the summertime. We’ve used black tea and herbal, both are wonderful!
Yes, and I love your idea of combining black tea and herbal.