Refreshing iced tea recipes and ideas for customisation

On these long hot summer days, there’s nothing more refreshing than a glass of home-made iced tea. Here’s how to make iced tea at home and a selection of awesome iced tea recipes.

less than 2 min read

January 10, 2024 - 5:00AM

One of the best things about iced tea is how easy it is to make. Plus, there are countless ways to customise a basic iced tea recipe, letting you turn an ordinary drink into something spectacular. Although plain iced tea is always tasty and refreshing, you can add fresh fruit or juice, mint, lemon or berries - the sky’s the limit!

Let’s start with the basic recipe below.

Iced tea recipe:

Ingredients

4 teabags (or loose tea equivalent)

1 cup sugar

8 cups cold filtered water

Method

Step 1: Brew the tea using 1 quantity of tea per cup. Filtered water gives a better taste. Allow tea to steep for 5 minutes, maximum.

Step 2: Put 1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of cold filtered water into a large jug.Stir until sugar dissolves.

Step 3: Pour the brewed tea into the sugar/water mixture and stir. TIP: Adding the hot tea to the cold water stops the drink from going cloudy.

Step 4: Allow to cool further and serve in glasses over ice.

How to make iced green tea

Much the same as a normal iced tea recipe, substitute regular tea for green tea (just allow the water to cool slightly before adding the tea to the boiling water). Add a slice of lemon to taste.

What kinds of tea can be used in iced tea?

Any kind of tea can be used, but some of the most popular teas include: green tea, black tea, herbal tea, oolong and white tea.

What are the best iced tea flavours?

Almost any ingredient can be used to flavour iced tea – half the fun is experimenting! Consider combinations like: watermelon and basil, pomegranate and lime, lemon and mint, or chamomile, strawberry and orange.