Homemade Iced Tea In 5 Easy And Tasty Recipes

Certainly, iced tea is THE ultimate summer drink that we all love to sip to fight against the scorching temperatures. And if you buy it often, you are probably aware that store-bought sugary drinks are all made with sugar and artificial ingredients. Making your own homemade iced tea is therefore easier and more economical than going to the store to buy it. Discover our selection of refreshing recipes to sip alone or with friends!

5 thirst-quenching recipes to make your homemade iced tea

Although it is not well known, drinking tea on hot days is indeed a very good habit to take. Pleasant and thirst-quenching, homemade iced tea is easier to make than you might think. There are only a few small rules to follow when it comes to the type of tea to prefer, the amount of sugar and the infusion. In general, we advise you to favor organic teas.

What kind of tea for a homemade iced tea?

Often made from black tea, iced tea likes all types of tea (green, white, Rooibos, etc.). You can even opt for iced herbal teas for an even tastier drink. To infuse the herbal tea, know that there are special sachets to fill yourself which greatly facilitate the preparation. Basically, the better the quality of the leaves, the greener your iced tea will be.

How much sugar can you put in it?

Generally, everyone is free to sweeten their drink as they wish. In any case, your homemade iced herbal tea is guaranteed to be less sweet than store-bought bottled tea. So, whether you're going to use granulated sugar, honey, or stevia, it's important to sweeten your drink right after brewing it. Once the tea is cold enough, you can add fine sugar, maple syrup or stevia to it. The granulated sugar will stay at the bottom of the glass and simply will not dissolve. Of course, you don't have to drink your sweetened iced tea. You can flavor it with a few slices of fruit of your choice.

What about the infusion? Should the water be boiled?

It's no secret that the key to successful iced tea lies in the right brew. When making your own, double the amount you usually use for making hot tea. This is explained by the simple fact that the cold tends to lose the flavors. Ice cubes, used later, make the drink more diluted. As for the brewing time, it's more about steeping several teabags than letting them steep for longer. Otherwise, you risk making your drink anchor and less flavorful.

Is cold boiling possible? Well yes ! According to some pedants, the best way to prepare iced tea is to let the tea bags steep in a pitcher filled with cold water for 12 hours in the fridge before removing them and adding sugar to taste. Although it takes longer, this method guarantees a more pure and tasty tea. Then you can keep your drink for 3-4 days in the fridge. After the fourth day, the tea will lose its freshness. So remember to prepare a small amount.

For each tea, its different infusion

• For an iced green tea - 1 tsp. tablespoons of leafy green tea in 1 liter of cold water for 1 hour.
• For a plain black tea - 2 tbsp. tablespoons of leaf tea in 1 liter of water (cold or at room temperature) for 2 hours.
• For the Rooibos - 2 tbsp. tablespoons of Rooibos leaves in 1 liter of cold water for 3 hours.

Iced black tea with lemon - the basic recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of water
• 8 black tea bags
• ½ cup of sugar (maple syrup, honey, stevia)
• lemon or lime slices

Preparation:

Preparation:

Start by boiling the water. Once boiled, pour it into the pitcher and add the black tea bags to it. Let steep for a few minutes and remove the sachets. Sweeten to your liking. Mix well with a large cocktail spoon until the sugar or honey has dissolved. Let the drink cool before sending it to the fridge. Add a few lemon slices and flavored ice cubes. Summery, energized and super gourmet, they quench your thirst with pleasure and allow you to enjoy your drink without complex. They are easy to make and offer a wide range of different flavors: kiwi, lemon, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon.

Tip: To make your lemon iced tea even more refreshing, you can dip a small piece of fresh ginger into the pitcher.

Iced white tea with peach

Precious and rare, white tea was widely prized by emperors at the time. With its delicate and light taste, it goes wonderfully with sweet and ripe fruits.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter of filtered water
• 3-4 ripe peaches (white or yellow)
• 15 g white tea
• mint or basil leaves
• cane sugar syrup
• chia seeds (optional)

Preparation:

Mix the tea in a pitcher filled with filtered water and let it steep at room temperature for 40 minutes. Filter and put the tea in the fridge. Before serving, cut the peaches into pieces and put them in the pitcher. Stir and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Serve with ice cubes and basil or mint leaves. Sweeten with maple syrup or cane sugar, depending on preference.

Tip: in each glass you can add half a teaspoon of chia seeds.

Iced rooibos with dried hibiscus flowers

Ingredients:

• 3 sachets of good quality Roobois
• 4 tbsp. organic dried hibiscus flowers
• 750 ml of filtered water
• 4-5 tsp. unrefined sugar
• 1 handful of seasonal fruits (optional)
• flavored ice cubes (optional)

Preparation:

In a saucepan, simmer the water without boiling it. In a separate container, place the sachets of Roobois, the dried hibiscus flowers and the unrefined sugar. Add hot water and let steep for 3 minutes. Then transfer the infusion to a pitcher, filtering it with a sieve to collect the flowers. Let cool and add some seasonal fruits. Chill for 1 hour or more. You can also add a little orange blossom water to it. Before serving, put berry flavored ice cubes in each glass or enjoy the tea as is.

Homemade iced tea with tapioca pearls and mango

Straight from Taiwan, iced tapioca pearl tea, also known as Bubble Tea, has everything to please fans of healthy and fruity drinks. Here is how to prepare it at home!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of tapioca pearls
• 3 tbsp. tablespoon of sugar
• 2 cups of green or black tea
• 2 cups of mango nectar
• 2 cups of vegetable or cow's milk

Preparation:

Cook the Asian pearls in a saucepan filled with 2.5 liters of water for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the pearls sit for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water. Prepare the tea and add the sugar, nectar and milk to it. Mix everything well. Divide the pearls among 4 glasses, put ice cubes and fill with the milk-tea-nectar preparation. As for the mango nectar, please do not replace it with mango juice, as the latter will only curdle the drink. For a vegan version, we obviously swap cow's milk for almond milk.

Grapefruit slices in iced tea

Ingredients:

• 1-2 good quality black tea bag (s)
• 1 liter of cold filtered water
• 2 very ripe grapefruits
• 3 tbsp. tablespoon of cane sugar syrup
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• scented ice cubes
• red fruits (optional)
• cinnamon stick (optional)

Preparation:

To successfully prepare our latest iced tea recipe, you have to start the day before. So, in a pitcher filled with 1 liter of cold water, put the black tea bags and let sit overnight in the fridge. In the morning, remove the sachets. Squeeze the grapefruits and pour the resulting juice into the pitcher. Sweeten and add the ice cubes and mint leaves. Enjoy immediately! Your frozen drink will be even tastier with 1 handful of red fruits and a cinnamon stick.