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
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.
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This is a perfect ice tea recipe. I can always offer guests a a delicious glass of fresh brewed tea when they visit. Thank you!!
Excellent tea!! We like Arnold Palmers and this recipe was perfect for that. Thanks!
Best iced tea.. I like mine unsweetened with lemon. This recipe is perfect
I prepared a recipe with Earl Grey Tea, and it turned out perfectly. However, when I used Orange Pekoe tea in the same manner and refrigerated it, the tea became cloudy. Stevia was used on both occasions. What could cause the cloudiness?
Hi Sharon. I have not tested this with Stevia, so I am not sure if that was the reason or not.
I’ve had trouble with cloudiness if I refrigerate the tea before it cools. I let it fully cool on the counter before chilling. I also avoid squeezing the teabags when I remove them. I hate the cloudy 🤮 doesn’t taste good either!
Hello Natalya, would Twinings Earl Grey tea work for iced tea?
Hi Dale, I have only tested this with black tea. If you give that a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
How can I make raspberry tea with this recipe? I grew up on true southern sweet tea. On a visit to California I couldn’t find sweet tea but the restaurants had raspberry tea. I really liked it and would love to make that.
Hi Dana! It’s very versatile and can be made with a variety of teas. Feel free to experiment with raspberry flavored teas.
Hi can you use any tea???????? Sorry for the bad comment mine tasted discousing I used normal tea. Thx
See my note in the blog above for tips. We used black tea but you can 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.
You can experiment with different sweeteners too. Add more or less based on your preference. It’s very versatile and easy to find a combination you’ll love.
Just wondering how long does this tea last in the fridge for. I love this recipe so much.
I haven’t tested refrigerating this for longer than 2-3 days.
Looks really delicious
What black tea did you use?
Thanks
Hi Anya! Any black tea bags will work.
This is actually seriously good. We add more sugar but thats what we like. The ratio is perfect!
Great to hear that you liked our Iced Tea Recipe!
Do you use regular or large tea bags.
I have made a lot of your recipes and have loved every one of them
Hello Pat, I usually use the regular size tea bags. I’m happy to know that you’re enjoying them!
In the Caribbean they give you a shot glass of simple syrup to sweeten your tea as you like it. Thought that was a great idea. Then everyone can sweeten their own and you don’t have to worry about the sugar not melting
Thank you for sharing!
This is the best iced tea I’ve ever made. I added lemon slices and mint leaves before serving. The family loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Yes, great idea and I’m so glad that you enjoyed our Iced Tea recipe!
Wondering if I can use splenda instead of sugar. If so, how much would I add?
Hi Arlene, I’m sure that’s fine but I cannot really say the exact measurement because I’d have to try it to find out.
I love anything homemade. But make sure to mention that not all teas can be used for cold brewing . . since many contain a lot of types of fungus and bacteria. Also most teas are made in china . . that means they are full of led. The longer the teabag is in the water the more led will end up in the final product. So be careful not to get any health complaints. That beeing said. I support you as a selfstarter. Good luck.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I have a few suggestions for this recipe.
I like to do the first serving of this recipe with the standard 8 cups water and 1/3 cup sugar and 10 minutes steeping – then save the tea bags for more iced tea.
Round two has about 6 cups water and slightly less than 1/3 cup sugar and about 8 minutes steeping.
For round three, I use about 4 cups water and about 1/6 cup sugar and 6 minutes steeping.
I also buffer the acidity of the tea with a very small amount of baking soda (about 1/4 teaspoon with every round.)
The total is about 18 cups of iced tea utilizing 6 teabags for ultimate thriftiness.
Thank you for sharing that with us!
THANK YOU Jay Dixon!!! I was wondering how to “pull this off”. When I make regular (hot) tea I reuse the tea bags and it pretty simple, but I know the ratios are different when it comes to iced tea. Thank you so much for posting, saving me the “guess work”. Your post is going in my cook book!- Ken
Awesome! This is the recipe for iced tea that I have been making for over 40 years. I have tweaked it from my Mothers recipe, (6 tea bags steeped for an hour, 1 cup of sugar, juice from 1 lemon. and 1/2 gallon of water.) I steep the tea for a half hour in water juuust before boiling, add 1/3 cup of sugar, and juice from 1/2 of a lemon! I use Lipton black tea.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Douglas!
Since I posted the above I have read quite a bit about brewing tea. I now steep it for 10 minutes as stated in your recipe. I heat the water to 190*. This ‘system’ produces consistent fantastic results every time.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been making fresh brewed tea for over 40 years! I add lemon juice to mine. The “Real Lemon” brand. No substitutes!
This is super delicious and easy! I do have a question though, if I wanted to make 12 servings instead of 6 (so double the recipe), how long would I steep the tea bags for? Would it still be for 10 minutes or longer since there’s more water?
Hi, I would steep for the same amount of time if you are just doubling everything straight across including the tea bags. Or you can steep it to your desired color and taste.
This is better than store bought any day of the week .I make it all the time. I cut back on soda and drink the tea which is healthier. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear, Ellen! Thank you for the feedback.