There is nothing like chilled homemade iced tea to quench thirst during hot summer days; it is wonderfully refreshing, easy to make, and far more delicious than any of the prepackaged brands available on the market, plus it's cheaper too if you'll be drinking lots of it, which is likely once you've tried these recipes!
To make homemade iced tea we can use black tea, green tea, or rooibos (meaning "red bush") which does not contain caffeine and has low tannin levels compared to black tea or green tea. Below you can find 3 recipes by The Domestic Geek using each of these 3 types of tea; make sure you follow the tips for perfect iced tea every time!
Tips for perfect iced tea
- Don't use a crappy quality of tea, the better quality your tea, the better tasting your iced tea
- Don't over brew your tea or it will taste bitter
- Don't add sugar to cold tea as it does not dissolve well; dissolve honey in warm water (too hot decreases its medicinal values)
- Don't put the tea into the refrigerator until it’s cool or it will result in cloudy tea
- Don't make too much in advance; iced tea is best when it’s fresh.
Homemade iced tea recipes
Classic iced tea
Ingredients:
- 6 black tea bags
- 8 cups hot water
- 1 lemon, zested and sliced
- ¼ honey (optional)
- 1 cup hot water (optional)
- ice
Instructions:
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest of one lemon being careful not to get the white rind which is quite bitter.
- Add the lemon zest and tea bags to hot water and stir; allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and the zest and allow the tea to cool completely.
- For sweetened iced tea, add warm water to honey and stir until the honey is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
- In a pitcher combine ice and lemon slices.
- Add tea and honey mixture and stir thoroughly.
Raspberry peach iced tea
Ingredients:
- 6 rooibos tea bags
- 8 cups hot water
- ¼ honey (optional)
- 1 cup hot water (optional)
- 4 ripe peaches, sliced
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- ice
Instructions:
- Add tea bags to hot water and stir; allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and allow the tea to cool completely.
- For sweetened iced tea, add warm water to honey and stir until the honey is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
- In a pitcher combine ice, peach slices and raspberries.
- Add tea and honey mixture and stir thoroughly.
- For best results, allow tea to infuse with flavor for 1-2 hours before serving.
Mojito-style iced tea
Ingredients:
- 6 green tea bags
- 8 cups hot water
- ¼ cup superfine sugar (optional)
- 1 cup hot water (optional)
- 3 limes
- 10-12 mint leaves
- ice
Instructions:
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest of one lime being careful not to get the white rind which is quite bitter.
- Add the lime zest and tea bags to hot water and stir; allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and the zest and allow the tea to cool completely.
- For sweetened iced tea, add warm water to sugar and stir until the honey is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
- In a pitcher combine ice and lime slices and mint.
- Add tea and sugar mixture and stir thoroughly.
- For best results, allow tea to infuse with flavor for 1-2 hours before serving.
